Race to work, race to bed: A baby bicycle step

Tomorrow I'm going to bike to CalTrain by taking Valencia to 14th and then going down Folsom before turning onto 4th as recommended here. No map today because damn I'm hella tired and damn I only get six hours of sleep. I left work a little late, though, so that explains it. I'm banking that biking will be about a thousand (or maybe two) times as fast as BARTing (not to mention I would rather not have to buy THREE monthly passes, for May -- when do I have time to find a VTA one, anyhow? Why can't the machines just sell them? The VTA machines are horrible, as we already know...) walking, so I'm looking forward to seeing how it turns out. I have a good lock, and the Bike Hut is right there, as Dominic pointed out. Even if my bike isn't actually IN it, it should be good deterrent, right? Time for bed -- not joking! I don't want to live on caffeine like I did today. Hydration and exercise and leaving on time so you don't stress out. That is the life. Me and my happy bike will save the day *doesn't know what she's saying anymore*

Don't Be Lazy

Well, ok, real quickly........

my final work schedule has been decided and it is actually such that I would not have to ride at all...

M-R

11 PM - 10 AM

i.e. no weekends, when the trains have shortened running hours (although holidays will be short...that said, I can take company holidays if I want to).

This is completely unexpected.

I guess, though, that I am not going to let that deter me from getting tons of exercise. I will just check the weather the night before and see what it looks like. If it's gonna storm or something, I can take the drier route *shrug*

I'm slowly realizing I will never have time to blog again, but I'll keep you posted on that ;D

Bike park bummer (but some good news, too)

I investigated Bike Hut next to the 4th and King CalTrain today. Great system and an affordable-seeming repair shop, too. Anyways, I was all excited about the possibility of starting off with just doing the easy leg of the trip (CalTrain and back -- no sweat) and parking all day in a safe, indoor location. Unfortunately they don't open until quarter to seven and I need to catch the train at either 4:55 or 5:23 (yeah, AM), so that's not gonna happen. I can actually take BART at 4:17 in the morning, though, if I want to, so at least that is nice. Walking just seems cruel. It takes about an hour. Even if I take BART I will still be walking part of the way, though. Biking is really the fastest, but I'm just not sure about leaving my ride out all day long, even with a good lock and cable, is the smartest idea. 

The other thing is that it's just a good way to get miles in during the week. It is pretty unlikely that I will get home after a long day and a long commute and be like, "Hellz yeah, 8 o'clock! Time to get on the bike!" unless of course, I have somewhere to go. I might ride down to SafeWay tomorrow for lunch supplies. Food is dwindling around here and I need to think of not only things I can take to work to eat, but simple things I can eat when I get home.

Incidentally, news of the day is that Cryptic has a bicycle commuter reimbursement program. Something like 20 dollars a month? I clearly need to look into it more. 

Shopping Aftermath (Dammit, math...)

I ended up going with Arkel's Commuter bag, after reading the testimonial about how someone got hit by a car, bike went flying, and their bag stayed on the rack, laptop fine. If I am lying dead on the side of the road after an accident, my bag had BETTER be on my rack. Plus the way they described the usage possibilities, "If you need to carry a laptop, extra clothing, a pair of shoes, lunch and all of your very own 'nick nacks', then, the Commuter is right for you," is exactly what I need it for (minus the shoes. My job doesn't require dress shoes and I am too poor to have cycling specific kicks.) Can't wait for it to arrive.

Happy hour local shopping consisted of fenders (black, although for some reason the lady was trying to sell me pink ones, sheesh), Valencia Cyclery water bottle (I needed one and I might as well represent), water bottle holder (may pick up another, we'll see), fingerless gloves (mostly to keep my hands warmer, but they are padded to keep pressure points comfier, I guess), and a rack. This stuff will get installed at some point soon. Maybe I'll bother Joseph again, "Trade you time on Rock Band for bicycle assistance!" (He helped me with my wheel and seatpost locks, and the holder for my u-lock that makes me too nervous to use; I don't mind throwing the lock in my backpack, anyway.)

Once all that was bought (mostly by my mom as an early b-day present! Thanks Mom!) I had been planning on picking up some a couple pairs of skinny jeans, since the only pants I really feel very comfortable riding in right now are my Anthropologie cords, but then I realized that what I really need is a good jacket. Hoodies and my puffy vest are good, but when it's chilly and the wind really starts blowing, they don't cut it. I really really REALLY want to take advantage of this sale. This jacket is exactly what I want and they have it in blue. And it's half off. Who could ask for more? The only problem is that I have student loan payments to make, not to mention a 200 dollar CalTrain pass to spring for. I'm probably also going to get a VTA pass for at least the first month while I continue to work on getting my mileage up. Soooooooo, grah. We'll see about that. Also want to grab the waterproof cover for my bag, which I should do with the jacket, if I order it, to save on shipping (10 bucks!)

*yawn yawn* I guess I gotta think about sleeping soon. Another long day tomorrow, but just Kabuki and Casto theaters so it should be an easy ride. Key word: "should" ;D Either that or I won't be able to move when I wake up. We'll see. I wouldn't feel like too much of a pussy if I took the day off of the bike tomorrow. Did a decent job today.

Lost in Presido-land

Ohhhhhh boy. Today was a long day -- and cold! But yes, let me tell you what happened with the bike route. Instead of sticking with what I know (Kabuki) I decided to go for mileage. "Ah ha, the Presidio! That sounds far!" I thought. INDEED.

The Presidio is also a maze, and it didn't help that I was going to a place that doesn't yet exist (the Disney Museum), and to a building that is part of that place, but not at the main address. Anyways, this is more or less the route I took. I am too lazy to show that I missed the Mariposa turn and went all the way to sixteenth before heading East, etc.

You may recognize this as part of this Bikely route, which loops the city in about 30 miles. I'd wager this is about a third of it? Less than half, but still a pretty substantial chunk. Obviously a little round about, but for a reason, since you're not pushing up any hills or heading down Van Ness, which seems like sheer madness. Not that the Embarcadero wasn't busy on a farmer's market morning, but they have a bike lane ;D

I actually got quite lost before I even got to the museum the first time. Just in the Presidio. What is it about this place? I guess if I had a map (or iPhone!) it would help. Anyways, so I tooled around there for a while before finding the museum, but what I saw was the clearly under-construction main building, and not the hall where the reception was taking place. I think part of my problem was that I thought I was taking tickets, since that's what I signed up to do. I had heard of the Letterman Digital Arts Center (Is that what it's called?) in relation to this event as well, so then I figured it must be over there, so I called my friend Xav for an address, which it did not really have, aside from cross streets.

Later on I realized I could've just cut through some places, but I ended up going all the way back to Mason and missing a turn and going down Laguna to Chestnut and then still ending up frightfully lost for quite some time even though I was in the correct complex. There just weren't any signs...at all. The Yoda fountain, though, I did finally find that. (I love that it has its own Yelp page XD) 

So I parked my bike, got it locked up well (easier to do it around actually bike parking spots than streets signs, when it comes to the thickness of my frame and whatnot), and went inside only to find that actually, my shift was working the after party which WAS back at the Disney Museum (but at a hall around the corner). I got minorly lost on the way back there, but eventually found it. 

So my reward for something like 2 hours of biking was four hours on my feet volunteering, but it was really worthwhile :D (A story for a different blog, perhaps.) Also, I'm pretty psyched about having biked such a "long" way. (Yeah, I know it's nothing, but I've only been at this for...two weeks?) I guess that must've been around 12 miles, at least? So it seems that I am definitely capable of doing my the "to" part of my commute. I cheated today and got "from" taken care of by the bf in his Outback: X but hey, baby steps.

The Mission to the Kabuki Theater [now with more awake]

I'm trying to remember how I came up with this route. I think it's stealing a fair bit from a Bikely route that goes much farther, but I can't remember which one, sorry : / I had the link, but my computer died while I was out working the festival (which was fun, btw!) [Man, I was really tired last night

Anyways, both of my shifts today were at the Sundance Kabuki Cinema. Here's the map:

So you can mostly see it went something like this.

1. Fly down Valencia. If you're closer to that other place we were talking about, that is fine, too. [What? What was I talking about?]

2. I don't dare actually bike across the mess that is every street in the world hitting Market. Is that lame? I don't even bike left turns unless it's not busy at all. It's cool that [you ;D] can switch from person to machine so fast just by getting on or off your bike. 

3. Franklin --> Fulton --> Webster 

At one point it got really windy, which was a little alarming. I actually parked on Webster, not right next to the cinema.

Oh man, I'm so tired. I was going to say a ton of stuff, but this will have to do for now.

Invitation

So I've been thinking about this blog and it seems like it would be fun if more people wrote for it. I have friends in lots of places, and some of them ride bikes, so why not? If you know me (or want to know me) and think you might like writing about your experiences with your bicycle (for free and fun), let me know!

I already added Seth, who will no doubt introduce himself and his bike shortly (NO PRESSURE, SETH :P) He's in Wisconsin and knows more about bicycles than me (which is not hard)! 

The Why

I had been meaning to get a bike for a while, but it became a necessity when I found out I got a job in Los Gatos. Los Gatos is not really NEAR San Francisco, nor is it on BART or CalTrain. It's a bit out there. It's possible to arrive around the corner from my job via a few different public transportation systems, but I anticipate that the hours they run (especially on the weekends, during which half of my work "week" will transpire) will be incompatible with the times I need to commute. 

For comparison purposes, here is the route I took when I went for my interview:

BART downtown

Walk or bus to CalTrain

CalTrain to San Jose

Light rail to Winchester

Bus to Los Gatos

Actually I recently got some good news regarding this. I had expected to start straight off with the 4x10 schedule (instead of a normal M-F, 9-5, a 5x8, I guess), but actually we're doing a 5x9, so it's M-F, 8-5. This means I can actually commute as explained above (leaving at the crack of dawn -- whoo!)

The good thing about this is not that I can be lazy and pay more money, it's that I can work up slowly to biking everyday and don't have to jump into it all at once and probably strain all my muscles (I'm still a wimp, remember...)

It also means I can take a little more time to plan my route, which is good because I'm not organized AT ALL! ;D

The eventually plan will be to bike to CalTrain and then bike from San Jose to Los Gatos. It's 24 miles, give or take, round trip. I won't find out my final schedule until Monday (I think this Monday, anyhow!) and I'm not sure when that will start, but I'm hoping that I can get a F-M overnight shift. If I work during the day I will get off and not be able to get home due to a lack of running trains! It means some biking in the dark, but I bet traffic is a cinch at night in Los Gatos. 

Bike Shop Happy Hour vs. The Shopping List

Valencia Cyclery is having a happy hour event on Thursdays this month where clothes and accessories are 20% off between 5 and 7 PM. Today (later...like after the sun comes back up) is the last day I will be able to go since I'll be commuting home next week, so it looks like I have some shopping to do. I'm wonder what of the things I want/need I should try to get. Here are some things I have come up with that would be nice to have:

Repair kit

This is sort of necessary, but I think what I need to find out is the extent. I've heard all you REALLY need is "two spare tubes, tire wrenches, and a pump." Maybe a multi-tool. *doesn't even know (yet) what a multi-tool is* I do want to learn some basic repair stuff just in case, though, as you can tell if you've browse my links.

Fenders

Duh.

Rain Clothes

My mom shipped out my rain jacket, but I wonder if that will be too big to ride in. Even with a jacket, though, my legs and feet will get soaked. Trying to figure out what to do. They certainly make rain pants and covers for shoes and things.

Clothes in general

I'd like to get a pair or two of straight leg skinny jeans to wear when I'm riding around town, but I'm not sure what to wear for the commute (which I guess I still haven't explained in detail -- next post). I guess just whatever is comfortable, since it will be disgusting by the time I get to work anyhow. Luckily, I hear they have showers.

Eye Gear

I have a lot of problems with wind in eyes making them tear up completely so I can't see anything. Not exactly the safest way to ride, one-handedly while trying to dab under your glasses with the other hand, nor does it look cool to be crying and biking down the street, lol. I don't have a solution here yet. Some people say wrap around sunglasses'll do it, but I feel like I would a) need sunglasses but also not sunglasses, since I will eventually be riding at night, I think and b) something that goes over my glasses. Maybe goggles? I hear they fog up. I don't know!

Gloves

This is a must. When I went to Xav's house (which I could map out in a future post -- it's about a five mile ride) my hands were so cold! Of course, that was pretty tricky because I hit the fog wall. Got super cold and damp. I need a better jacket for this type of thing, too *mentally adds that to the general clothing section* Seems like fingerless gloves would be the way to go? I don't really expect it to keep my hands warm, per se; just cutting the wind would be nice.

Water Bottle Holders

This is another no-brainer, but the bike didn't come with even one, so I will have to figure it out.

Rack and Bags

Yes, the pannier debate continues. Biking with my backpack on is not such a big deal, but it really depends what is in it. Right now I have biked comfortable with a notebook, textbook, and the bike lock, along with some incidentals like cash, cards, DS, maybe a couple CDs -- whatever.

The thing is if I am taking fresh clothes, food, my laptop, etc, then it could get bulky. I can recognize the fact that having panniers will make me feel like I can carry more when it will still be just as hard to move the bike with more stuff on it. I think my real dilemma is that I don't want to just get one big, waterproof bag, since that would throw off the balance. I was thinking if I carry my laptop and maybe clothes in one back, and everything else (toys, books, food) in the other bag, then it would be ok, but I wonder how much that really is.

Also I'm just really paranoid about how to make sure none of this stuff falls off in the middle of the street. Plus I like feeling pretty narrow -- fit more places and cars are less likely to clip you?

Let me know if you have any ideas on things that are good to have. I can't afford much now, but anything worth while will be looked into :D In the meantime, I'm going to bed z_z

Please to Link

So the link list is already steadily growing, mostly from blogs I am bringing over from my Google Reader, which is also a new trend. Been Yelping and RSS aggregating. I guess one project of this blog would be to actually dig in a bit and read these blogs closely so I can give them each a proper introduction. Mostly I just grabbed anything that looked interesting regarding bicycle fashion, design, culture, repeat, happiness...

Anyways, more on that later. And if you have any good links, let me knowwwww...*yawn*

Recent Rides

I meant to be keeping better tabs on this. The first actually strictly transportation as opposed to "Let's see if I remember how to ride a bike" ride I took was to jury duty, on Bryant.



This is not a very long ride, just two miles. I'm not sure the turn to Bryant is marked in the right spot, but I can't remember it exactly. You do have to turn, though. Some kind of funny downtown road, like it goes head on into itself with two one-ways or turns into a free-way entrance -- something like that.

The way back is slightly different, in that I definitely take Division back to Harrison. There's a bike lane on Harrison, so it's far less harrowing (hehehe) than trying to ride the whole way down Bryant, for instance, which would be hellish. I need to consult some references about how to deal with buses better.

The second ride I have done more than once (the first time was a nightmare -- never been so asthmatic in my life o_o) is to the bf's house:



It's a little longer, almost three miles. Note that this location is approximate. Also note that google maps can be tricky for this purpose; please disregard the Eureka loop -- there is actually a foot path I will describe. Anyhow, I looked at the bike map to try to find minimal hills (which is tricky, considering he does live ON TOP OF A HUGE HILL. 

Valencia you can fly down, it's so easy, with the bike lane. 18th is trickier when it is busy and doubly tricky because of the sneaky incline. It seems like a flat enough street, but you really feel even the slight angle when you're on a bicycle. Then again, let's remember that I'm a noob! (But I guess I haven't explained that yet, soon enough ;D)

Turning onto Douglass basically means getting off your bike and shoving up a couple steep hills. Pretty intense, but there are even harder trials ahead! At the top of the hill you actually get to shoulder it and take some stairs. This is very much a one step at a time affair, but I have definitely daydreamed of being able to take these two at a time at a run. You earn an easy coast over to 23rd, but then come two absolute beasts of hills to get to the top of 23rd. 

The first time I got to the top of that (after not even managing to bike all the way down 18th without a couple breaks) I was pretty much dead. It's definitely the hardest I had even consciously pushed myself, physically. When you're pushing up hills it is easy to say, "Oh I'm just walking, pick up the pace!" but that is a good way to, say, hurt your knee : X heh (Had a brief scare one morning where I limped around for a while, but it went away pretty quick! Whew!)

The second time it went a lot better, and I didn't take any breaks on 18th. Just to push up the hills in those two spots I mentioned. I should bust out a paint program or something, or maybe find a better bike route site. There is one, I think...

Anyhow, my next project is to figure out how to get to the Kabuki theater without taking too many hills, and then the Disney Museum in the Presido. Volunteering at the San Francisco International Film Festival this weekend. 

My Bike (of April 22, 2009)

Here is what I can tell you about my bicycle right now:

- It's a used Trek 7300 FX, mens (for better or for worse).

- It works.

- I bought an OnGuard Bulldog DT 5012 Bicycle U-Lock and Extra Security Cable, but am finding my bike frame is pretty thick, so it seems pretty tricky to lock it up sometimes.

- I got wheel and seat post locks. The original quick release bolts (bolts?) are in my room, not getting oil on the floor.

- These are the lights the lady at the bike shop recommended. VERY bright. I like them a lot, and also that they velcro to anywhere you want to attach them. All over the frame, looped through a backpack zipper tie or something, you know. I'm trying not to think about how much money I would've saved buying them at Amazon.

I'll take a pic soon, since I know at least one person who would like to check it out.

A Word About My Bicycle Blog

It's not laid out yet. I'm just starting. I'm also just starting the whole bicycle thing (albeit not from scratch), but that is a different post. No, this post is about the title, because I feel like it might be necessary.

If I feel it is necessary to write an explanation, then why did I choose such a title?

That is a very good question!

Clearly (if you are a geek?) the title is Engrish in the same vein as "Please to enjoy." Maybe there are some people who employ this type of common ESL error in hurtful ways, and those people are losers. Whenever I see or hear this wording, though, it just makes me feel happy. It gives off very genuine, earnest, and upbeat vibes. As it happens, that is also the way I feel about my bicycle and learning to commute and starting this blog. Thus, "Please to Bicycle." (Incidentally, I also just like the way it looks aesthetically. The other top choice was Ride a Bike, but I didn't want "bike" to ever be construed as "motorbike," and "Ride a Bicycle" just doesn't have the same ring.)

Maybe even having this "About" disclaimer somehow makes me racist, but I don't think so. I really hope not.

I guess the other bottom line here is that this is my blog and I can't imagine many people checking it out, although I will try to provide useful and interesting content/links alongside the mundane tales of commutership and whatnot.