how to bike commute AND enjoy a fresh smoothie

One of the problems I consistently run into while bike commuting revolves around hunger. I have a sizable breakfast every morning before I get ready to leave my place. I pack a good lunch with a few smaller snacks to make sure I have enough to eat during the day. But I always hit a morning snag. I have tried eating a larger breakfast before I leave for work, but then my stomach is way too full and it is uncomfortable while on the bike.

And then I thought of a solution - bring a smoothie. But that brought up a new problem - how to keep it cold. Finally, I feel I have solved this problem.

This morning, I made a smoothie as I prepared my lunch for the day and poured it into one of my many water bottles.



While I finished getting ready for my morning commute, I put the water bottle in the freezer. Once I was ready to go, I grabbed the bottle and dropped it into my insulated water bottle holder that I picked up at a local REI store. These things are a great investment, especially if you spend any amount of time outdoors in the summer - or if you just live in Arizona.



Once I got to work this morning, I pulled out the water bottle, and my smoothie was still frozen like a smoothie should be. It made for a great morning-starter instead of the usual coffee.

the utilitarian concept

I had a nice "taste" of utility cycling this weekend, for almost the first time. I am committed to biking to and from work almost daily, but for things such as grocery shopping, I drive my car. But this past weekend showed us such beautiful weather that I made my best effort to be outside as much as possible, and use my bike as much as I could to get where I needed to go.

On Saturday morning, I decided to go to the Phoenix Public Market, which is a normal Saturday market that features a mix of artisans and local farmer's produce. Unfortunately, since it IS Arizona, the local produce did not offer much. There were two or three stands that had natural produce of any kind - the rest of the vendors were either selling eggs, breads, jams, honeys, prepared food or other artisan products like blankets, ceramic thingies, etc. This was my first time going to this market, so I really did not know what to expect. It was nice, but disappointing. As I mentioned, Arizona just does not offer much in the way of locally grown produce. I envy those who live someplace where they can go to a farmer's market and buy fresh, local produce. Oh well, c'est la vie.

I did buy some fresh veggies, some strawberry-amaretto jam, and a loaf of all-natural bread. So far, I have been extremely pleased with what I purchased. But it was the experience of riding my bike to the market on a gorgeous Saturday morning, and bringing the stuff home in my backpack that makes it taste so good!

Unfortunately, the ride TO the market was a little rough - and by that I mean almost the entire trip was on a construction zone. For those of you in Phoenix, don't take Washington St.! It is still under much construction. I had heard speculation that the construction was completed, but that is a negatory - they have a long way to go until that road is finished.

Granted, I could have turned and gone around the construction, but I was in an unfamiliar part of town, and honestly did not know if any of the other streets nearby would be any better. So I stayed the course...slowed down, stayed alert for potholes, and eventually made it to my destination. Too bad I forgot my camera...

All in all, I had a refreshing taste of how great it is to explore a new area by bike. I got to see another side of Phoenix, get some fresh air and just really enjoy the day. Hooray for that...

the obnoxious smell that is phoenix arizona

There is no denying the fact that Phoenix stinks. Seriously, the city (generally speaking) has a bad odor to it. This is a fact that I never really came to notice until I started bike commuting. And as it has become custom for me to do, I contemplate these things while I am riding to and from work each day. It is easy to see why the city has a foul odor - there is litter everywhere, a plethora of cars and machines spewing pollutants, very little natural "greenspace," and trash cans baking in the intense sun. But why is that the case?

Reluctantly, and non-judgmentally, I think America's "car-culture" is, at one level, a root cause of such a catastrophe as a smelly city. It is our willingness to drive even only down the street to a store or friends house that facilitates the downward spiral into poor city conditions. When we step into a car, we are removing ourselves from our surroundings, and just as Robert Pirsig wrote about in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, viewing the world through a frame - just as we do when watching tv. All of a sudden, the world around us does not seem real, but mere fiction. And therefore the problems in that world are just as fictional. When we are in cars, we don't have to worry about the litter or the smell, because it does not exist. We do not see it and we do not smell it.

As I mentioned would happen, this blog is becoming more revealing about what I personally believe and feel - and because of that I will, from time to time, reveal more context about the life that I live. And here is a story:

This past Sunday at church, the priest (Father Gil) gave a well-delivered sermon about the growing disparity between rich and poor. Episcopalians use 3 readings from scripture during every Sunday service, and this week there was a reading from Luke's gospel about a rich man and a poor man, to which Fr. Gil stated the following:

What was the rich man’s sin that resulted in him being sent to Hades? It seems that his sin was what he didn’t do rather than what he did. He ignored the poor man Lazarus. He didn’t do anything to help Lazarus. He averted his eyes from Lazarus’ condition and did nothing to help him. [read more...]

And tying this back into bike commuting: it is our willingness to drive anywhere and everywhere, as modern Americans, that facilitates a culture that ignores the real problems of our own communities. I guarantee that no one who walks by all the trash on the road smiles and says, "that is so pretty, and the smell...heavenly!" Instead, we plop ourselves into a car to drive someplace, and are not confronted with the reality of it. It's not that we are always the ones creating the litter. But we ignore it, all from the comfort of our air conditioned, sea breeze-scented, rolling world-shrinker.

So it is only when we immerse ourselves in reality that we can truly see what the problems are. And I have the youthful ignorance to believe that when those problems become real to each of us, we will eventually reach a tipping point and do something about it. And because of that, I urge people to take a bike ride or a walk around something as remote and small as your own neighborhood, and if you see a piece of trash, pick it up. It's such a simple thing to do - and as we do it more frequently, it will become almost second nature, until we restore the care and respect for our surroundings. Our neighborhoods and our cities need it. And our conscience will be happy...

The Velorution is about more than bikes.

on becomming an addict

My name is Jeff, and I think I am a bike addict. I do not say these things intending to mock any sort of serious addictions. But I admit: I really like bikes and riding them. I own two, but yearn for at least 3 more - and that's before concerns of money even kick in. 17 miles pedaling a bike each day is not enough for me. I ache for more, and often I ache because I do more.

Case in point: last Wednesday I came home from work (to which I transported myself to by bike). Upon walking into my apartment, I decided I wanted to go out for a bike ride. I swapped out my road shoes for my MTB shoes, grabbed the mountain bike and headed right back out the door. I spent another good hour on my mountain bike - both casually cruising around the trails and hitting some big climbs and big hucks (jumps for those not privy to the cyclo-speak).

The best part of all this bike riding came the next morning when I woke up. My legs felt almost as fresh as they do every other day. When I first started bike commuting, I was pretty drained each morning when I first got on the bike. But over time, my legs have built their strength and stamina, and accepted that they will be pushed pretty hard every day.

There is a great feeling of satisfaction - knowing that my daily exercise is no longer limited to transporting myself to and from work. I am again free to roam the parks, the open road and the trails in the afternoons, and if I can ever get myself out of bed before 530 am, I will be free to roam these places in the early morning. I think the afternoon suits me just fine though...

But then again, wouldn't you do the same if this was right out your door?

yeah, it's got a hemi

It's Friday. I had another solid week biking to and from work. Thursday morning when I woke up, my legs were just too beat, so I broke down and drove the car - and yes I still have the Maxima I wrote about in a previous post.

After two full months of biking to work everyday with the exception of the first week in September, I am feeling more excited than ever about being a bike commuter. Wednesday after work I took the mountain bike out on the trails by my house and rode for a solid hour on some not-so-level terrain. Needless to say, that pushed my legs over the edge, and Thursday morning when I woke up, I had nothing left. And I am ok with that.

When I first started bike commuting, my legs were tired every morning when I woke up, and it would take me a good mile or so to get up to speed. But now, every day I feel powerful right from the start - and it lasts all day too. I have plenty of strength left when I return home every night too.

Case in point: I beat a truck going up a hill this afternoon! A traffic light brought me to a slow roll about 4 cars back. Once traffic started moving, I settled into my spot behind a truck, catching a little bit of a draft and using the break from the wind to keep up with the few cars that were on the road. I hear an old beater pick-up accelerating behind me and in the lane to my left. As he starts to pass me, I began pedaling harder and harder - all the while beginning a slight incline. From the roar of the engine I could tell the truck wasn't just easing up the hill. I began to pull ahead - at the same time the roar of his engine gets louder and louder. We peak the hill (about a quarter mile climb) and I am slowing down to 33 mph. It was a nice rush...

So the lesson for all you kiddos: take rest when you need it, eat your fruits and vegetables, and love the Velorution! Happy Friday all.

oh, for the love of updates

Some may call this bragging - and I am OK with that. My "reach" has gone beyond this blog a few times recently, and I wish to draw attention to that.

• I did my first post for bikecommuters.com yesterday [link currently unavailable].
• C.I.C.L.E. posted Bike Commuting 102: Get Your 'If's,' 'And's,' and 'But's' on the Saddle - part 2 of a 4-part series I wrote.
  

So, the Velorution is alive and well.

Bikecommuters.com experienced recent server problems, and my post was lost. We are trying to revive it but it might be a goner...if it shows up I will post a link.

this is like winning the pulitzer prize

A large number of the readers of this blog make it here from links on bikecommuters.com. To those of you, this will not be news. To everyone else, it probably will be.

As of this week, I will be a contributing writer on the bikecommuters.com site. I am officially the resident newbie - by roughly 8 years. I did my first post for their site yesterday.

I am excited about the opportunity to post content to a much larger and heavily trafficked site. Fear not loyal friends: I will continue to post items on this blog as well. In addition, BJ aka Will will also join me in posting on this blog as he chronicles his adventure into the world of bike commuting.

I anticipate - and this is not a promise by any means - that this blog will begin to shift more towards the personal and not so much the generic. The posts I do for bikecommuters will be more geared (ha - get it?) towards encouraging people to consider/take-up bike commuting, while the posts here on the Velorution will (most likely) drift towards my personal reflections on bike commuting. During my "August commuting project" I had hoped to write often about the social and "philosophical" side of bike commuting - but in all reality I wrote more about the what and not the why. I intend to write more of the why here.

So do not fret dear reader, for the Velorution has not forgotten you.