Reno Rambler's Open Salon Blog

Baby, It's Cold Outside!

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 23:12:24 -0500

Ok, not really that cold. We've mostly been blessed with a fairly mild fall this last month. But recently someone asked me about extending their cold weather riding season and wanted some tips. I haven't been great about riding in the cold this year but I'm still keeping up on my mileage goals so that's ok. Having ridden in 5 degree weather and inches of snow during my tenure in the midwest I do have a pretty good sense of what works and what doesn't in the colder times of year.

As I've gotten older I find that I am more sensitive to cooler temperatures and would far rather overdress and be a little sweatier than to deal with numb face, hands and feet during a ride. Give me a hot day and I can deal with the sweat over a slog through mind-numbingly cold ride any day. Although, that being said, there's something quite adventurous and fun about riding in a fresh snow or rain. I think as much as anything it is that the sound of the streets is so different that it feels like a whole different world. Hard to put into words but the rides you remember for years are not every single commute but the ones where you got something interesting thrown at you by mother nature. I'll never forget riding home for the last time from Damonte Ranch High School in the rain with a coworker. I needed that last ride to make my mileage goal for the year. The entire 12 mile ride was a perpetual downpour with lightning in places. I still have a few pictures from the end of that ride when I was soaked through. An epic way to end my bike commute tenure at that school.

But enough reminiscing. Here are a few tips for riding in colder weather that I've picked up over 20+ years of commuting. Another good place to start might be the class that Dan Ruby is teaching over at the Reno Bike Project. I think there is still time to sign up!

The first, and most obvious advice I can give is something everyone knows from other activities during this time of year: layer, layer, layer! It's what you layer that counts. Top to bottom here is a list of my cold weather apparel options:

1. Underneath that helmet I have tow options for a head covering. Both of them are wool. One is a thin wool skullcap and it works down to 25ish degrees. Anything colder and I go with a full wool Walz Cap that has a bill and ear coverings but still fits under the helmet.

2. Around 30 degrees I start using a basic wool balaclava on my neck that can be pulled up around my mouth and nose if the cold air starts bugging my lungs or the windchill gets to my face.

3. Torso. Your core needs smart layering because if it isn't warm it will effect profoundly your extremities and how cold they get. I always start with a long-sleeve wool undergarment. I have two options, one lighter than the other. The added benefit here is that when you sweat the wool isn't prone to getting stinky. I can get away with 3-5 days of commuting without washing the base layer.

Over that I have several jerseys of varying weights that I wear depending on temperature levels. Most of them are wool of varying thicknesses.

Over everything is a windproof shell from Pearl Izumi that has lasted me 8 years. It's thin but it makes all the difference in cutting the wind. In the afternoons on the way home from school I may not wear it depending on how windy it is.

I also also keep a strange little thin jacket made by Assos in my commute bag. It is a water resistant jacket with fibers that expand when hit with water. As the fibers expand the jacket gets more water repellant. Eventually of course, enough water coming down is going to get you but this isn't a bad emergency rain jacket.

4. Bottoms. Always start with a good bike short (that must be washed every day to avoid some nasty bacterial stuff...trust me on this). The single best piece of cold weather cycling clothing I've discovered in recent years are these wool tights sold through Rivendell Bicycles. They are pretty thick and not necessarily specifically for cycling. They are not super tight which is nice. Due to the strange thermal qualities of wool I can wear these in severe cold all the way up to 60 degrees and be comfortable. The added benefit of wool is that in all but the cold torrential downpours these tights will keep you pretty comfortable. I do have rain pants with velcro at the ankles but they are rarely used.

5. My feet and fingers are the first thing to get numb and make a ride miserable if I don't take care (see keeping your torso warm for help with this). Down to about 45 degrees I only use full thin wool gloves. Anything below that I've invested in a pair of semi-lobster gloves from Pearl Izumi. They are worth their weight in gold. Index and middle fingers are individual but the ring finger and pinky are together in a thick layer of warmth.

Thick wool socks are a must for the feet. A good shoe around it will keep my feet warm for about an hour in 30 degree weather. Anything longer or lower than that it is time for some sort of foot/ankle bootie over the shoe.

Etc.: Don't forget good lights and reflective gear with less light, hydration in the cold (so important!) and tires/tubes/liners, that will make you less prone to flats. Who wants to be fixing a flat in the cold?!

Warm Rainy Ride!

Los Angeles to Crack Down on the Harassment of Cyclists?

Thu, 11 Nov 2010 21:11:28 -0500

On the heels of my last post here is a slight bright spot. Apparently the city council in LA is considering getting a bit tougher on motorists who feel compelled to harass cyclists:

The council this week asked its attorneys to draw up an ordinance that would make it a civil violation to harass or assault bicyclists. The proposed law, which the council could consider in two months, would make it easier for cyclists to sue those who allegedly harass them and recover a cash settlement.

The bike rights campaign has been galvanized by the case of an L.A. doctor convicted a few weeks ago of purposely hitting bikers in Brentwood.

More here.

F**K Cyclists! Car Culture Rules the Legal System!

Tue, 9 Nov 2010 21:11:59 -0500

I've been inundated with emails from people letting me know about the Morgan Stanley, Wealth Manager who will apparently not be facing felony charges for hitting a cyclist and then leaving the scene of the crime. The charges are being reduced to misdemeanors because apparently a felony charge might cause the Wealth Manager to lose his job. One wonders what would have happened if the motorist had been a gas station attendant and not a financial managing handling over a billion dollars. The cyclist, a doctor, suffered "spinal cord injuries and bleeding from the brain" and reportedly will have pain for the rest of his life from the accident. I've included several links to the story here, here, and here.

What can I really say about this? Recently I got into an email altercation with someone claiming that all cyclists just assume that motorists are at fault when it comes to bike/car collisions. I know I don't assume that because I see too many cyclists breaking the law to make that assumption. But what I do know is that after years of experience as a cyclist and advocate I've seen literally hundreds of stories like the one above where the cyclist seems to get jilted out of due process and legal protection of their rights. Somehow the implication is that if you're a cyclist and get hit that at least to some extent the blame lies with the cyclist no matter how negligent the driver was. The fact that this driver apparently left scene should alone be enough to guarantee felony charges for the accident.

My point is that the system seems pretty stacked against cyclists just because our car culture makes the presumption that anybody riding a bike on the streets for transportation is "crazy" and perhaps even on some level deserved what they got.

Here is an updated bit of information:

UPDATE:

District Attorney Mark Hurlbert told HuffPost on Monday afternoon that news reports about the prosecution have been inaccurate. "We charged him with a felony, first of all," he said.

What's happening is that prosecutors offered Erzinger a plea bargain for restitution and two misdemeanors potentially carrying two years of jail time. What the victim wants, Hurlbert said, is for Erzinger to plead guilty to the felony of leaving the scene of accident, causing serious bodily injury. Under that deal, judgment would be deferred and the felony would be cleared from his record after a few years of good behavior. The misdemeanors, though, would stay on Erzinger's record permanently.

"This is the right plea bargain given the facts of the case, the defendant's prior criminal history and his willingness to take responsibility," Hurlbert said. "We feel this is far more punitive than the felony deferred."

Hurlbert did not offer details on the restitution, except to say it would be "significant."

"As far as employment, in any case where there is significant restitution we certainly take that into account....but it is not the overriding concern. In this case it was not the overriding concern," Hurlbert said. He added that he'd received mixed signals about how a felony or misdemeanor rap would affect Erzinger's ability to do his job.

Abandon Hope! Election 2010

Thu, 28 Oct 2010 09:10:23 -0400

I've been thinking a lot about the film, Winter's Bone since I saw it a couple of months ago. If you haven't seen it it's worth it for the Jennifer Lawrence performance alone (although there are many great performances in the movie). What struck me when I first left the theater was how thankful I was that I didn't live in hillbilly ozark land like the characters in the film. As Roger Ebert put it in his review, these are not characters you would expect to have ever filed a tax return. It's like they were out of "Deliverance" only scarier because they were more real. In fact, I'd say they've been pretty much left behind by the last half century of modernism, civil rights, technology, etc. No wonder I was so relieved that I live in "civilization."

Yet only a few days later I went for a bike ride and was probably only 15 miles outside of Reno proper when I happened upon this message (see above) painted on the side of a fallen telephone pole.

I thought to myself, it would probably only take a few miles beyond this message to be in Nevada's own version of the subculture presented in Winter's Bone. Meth labs, and anti-government extremism, and radical hillbillies exist out there (and in town I suppose) and it's not as far away as I'd like to think. The difference is that our brand in Nevada might actually vote a Sharron Angle into office.

Further reflection made me wonder if the message on that pole had another level of meaning.

Is it intentionally a play on the theme of Obama's campaign in 2008? Or was it there before. All I know is that it is as important as ever to keep hope alive for the future of our country and our embrace of a philosophy that promotes the well-being and equal rights of all citizens. A friend of mine who is far less prone to getting depressed about the current right-wing political situation in this country sees the bigger view that after centuries of progress and a march towards a more modern liberal society that we are bound to have a few hiccups but in the end the march of progress can't be stopped. Ultimately I agree with this sentiment but I'm afraid it will only happen with the continued vigilance of the people who supported Obama and the ongoing work to keep "Hope" alive.

It is perhaps a bit simplistic but this video at the very least captures a sense of what is wrong with the world-view of the right as we push forward into the 21st century. The question is, which side of the equation do you want to be on as history judges you? The party of bigotry, ignorance, and hatred?

And below, a trailer for Winter's Bone. A must see film...

Bella vs. Katniss

Mon, 6 Sep 2010 12:09:05 -0400

This line from Laura Miller's piece pretty much sums it up: "Bella Swan is clumsy and largely helpless, a rescue object for Edward and Jacob."

As an English teacher I'm thrilled my students are reading at all but HG is so far superior that it is hardly worth arguing the point. New Moon lost me when Meyers spent nearly two hundred awkwardly written pages telling me how depressed Bella was because her boyfriend left her.

After teaching a unit on the Hunger Games I had some of the most thoughtful responses from 13 year old boys and girls regarding political power, "reality tv," and our cultural obsession with beauty (and the lengths we are willing to go to obtain it). Many of my students are begging me to teach the second novel and a half-dozen rushed me on the first day of school to find out if I had read the newly released Mockingjay, while clutching it in their hands.