Bellevue, WA: Immaculate, cool bike racks, and jackets in the summer.

Just got back from a quick business trip to Bellevue, Washington. Bellevue is an outlying suburb of Seattle. A resident of Bellevue told me that Bellevue has always been a bedroom community of Seattle, but with higher property values. Well, I asked: shouldn’t it be called a ‘master’ bedroom community, ha-ha.

Anyway, I didn’t take an extra day so I could go riding (sorry Brompton), but I did walk around after my daytime meetings were over. First, the downtown area was surprisingly clean. They must run those street sweepers all night because nary a fast food wrapper or plastic water bottle was seen in the curbs.

2nd, they had these cool looking bike racks (men’s and women’s versions). Didn’t see a lot of urban riders, though. I saw 2, and they were both riding on the sidewalk. Bike racks were unused, too.

Finally, the temperature was a nice respite to the humid hot DC weather. I guess highs were up around the mid 70s. Mornings were cool (60s), but not cold. Yet, there were a lot of people wearing performance fleece as they jaunted around town. We’re talking Marmot, Mountain Hardware and TNF Denalis. I’d hate to be out here when it gets cold (like 50 degrees). I’d probably see some heavy parkas and such. To be fair, I did see people with flip flops, shorts and tshirts. They were probably from out of town.

Review of the Laken ISO 70 Insulated Water Bottle

I’ve been looking for a water bottle that is stainless steel and that can keep my water cold when I take my long rides. (Soapbox time: Steel and other BPA-free water bottles are reusable and great for the environment). All of the steel bottles I’ve seen are single walled and only keep water at room temperature. My plan would be to use this bottle in my water cage, throw it in my bag and maybe take it into the office.

There is a Polar bottle (http://www.polarbottle.com/) that is squeezable and has some sort of flexy insulated material that keeps liquids cold, but I don’t like they way it looks. I’m also afraid that the kind of abuse that I would put the Polar bottle through may cause it to leak or maybe even tear. The Polar bottle looks like it’s made of some flimsy rubber/plastic material.

I thought I had found the perfect candidate in the Laken ISO 70 water bottle. It felt as lightweight as a regular steel bottle because it has some sort of insulating material (aerogel) to keep water cold. In addition, it had a “wide mouth” so I could easily drop ice cubes in there. I picked it up at my local hiking/camping store and the price was $30 (ouch!). For that price it should work.

I tested it out this past weekend by filling it halfway with ice cubes and the rest with water. It kept the water cold for about 2-3 hours. That’s it. I was expecting more like 8-10 hours. Very disappointing.

Bottom line: Save your money and don’t by the Laken ISO 70 bottle. Looks promising, but does not deliver.

Budget Lock Options Found at Your Local Dollar Store

I love bicycling, but I hate paying high prices for bike accessories. Everything you see at the bike shop carries a hefty price, too. Because of this, I’m always on the lookout for cheap or on sale biking items. As you’ve seen from this blog, I’ve sometimes modified cheap(er) hardware store parts and adapted them for by biking purposes.

Below are two locks that I picked up at my local dollar store. The one on the left was $4 or $5. The one on the right was $1. If you are going to lock up your bike for an extended period of time I would recommend a U-lock, which can run you around $20. For a high quality U-lock, you can expect to pay more.

However, U-locks are heavy and add to the overall weight you carry on your ride. The locks here are affordable and lightweight. Ok, the one of the left is a little heavier (but not as much as a U-lock). The one on the right is great for locking up your bike outside the grocery store. It provides enough of a deterrent to prevent someone from walking away with your bike. At this price, you have no excuses for not carrying a cable lock.

The one on the left is more substantial. The cable is encased in thick rubber plastic type material. The cable inside looks to be woven three or four times. I can see wire cutters having a hard time cutting this cable lock. This lock is good for going inside the mall or seeing a movie for 3-4 hours.

Go to your local dollar store and check these out. I picked them in red color because I figured the "drive by" thiefs will notice that my bike is locked.

Fenders on my Downtube full suspension.

Wanted to post an upgrade I did on my Downtube. I installed full coverage fenders, which are better than those clip on fenders that are available everywhere. Take note of the back fender: It is shaped like a “C” which is great for stopping the rain from going up your back and messing up your drivetrain. The “C” shape covers up roughly 50% of the wheel. Rear clip-ons will usually do only 25%-30% of the wheel.

These are Planet Bike Hardcore recumbent 20” fenders. I believe they are also called “freddy fenders”. Planet bike sells them separately so you can’t buy them as a set. I guess it’s common for recumbent to have a different sized front and rear wheel (thus no sets). Including shipping both these cost me about $30.

It was a little challenging installing the rear fender. I criss-crossed some handi ties over the screw hole (the Downtube doesn’t have any place to fasten these). Still, the fender would slip down gradually while riding. I applied some duct tape around the screw hole area so that this wouldn’t happen. The duct tape went under the fender and around the frame. I could have made some holes instead of the duct tape, but I didn’t want to damage/modify the fenders as I may sell them later if I get rid of this bike.

The front fork of the Downtube doesn’t have a hole that neatly lines up with the wire holder of the fender. Thus, I fastened it using handi ties to the fork. I could have done p-clamps, but that would require me cutting the wire short. Again, I didn’t want to modify the original parts. I wish that planet bike would make their wires long and with an adjustable fastener to go up and down the fender. I’ve seen these fenders on some bikes. Longer adjustable wires would allow you to reach further or shorter depending on the holes on the frame. Another option is to use the holes that the Downtube has for disc brakes, but I wanted to keep those clear for now.

Injury update: I’m riding more, but still taking it easy. Lifting the front part of the bike hurts my left hand slightly. Some slight pain when separating thumb and index finger on my left hand and resting on handlebar. Squeezing the left brake is almost pain free.

Took a tumble. Sprained/forearm wrist.

Update 5-12-09 Did a short ride this morning on the Brommie. About 3 miles. Stuck generally to neighborhood streets. I ended up pawing the left handlebar to squeeze the brakes. Gripping the handlebar by separating the thumb and forefinger is painful. Thus, pawing and squeezing is the way to go. Pulling on the handlebar causes slight pain. I do this when going up an incline. I didn’t realize I did this until this injury. I guess I won’t be bombing down streets and jumping curbs for a while. I’ll ride this way until I feel well enough. Felt good to ride again :).

Update 5-9-09. 7 days since fall. Slow and incremental recovery. I am gradually regaining my motor skills on my left hand. Let me rephrase: I can do some motor skills with not as much pain. I tried to ride my Fuji 2 days ago and it was too painful on my left wrist to rest on the handlebars. I rode the Brommie yesterday (test ride on my front street) and that was slightly better. I had to use my lower palm on the left handlebar. The Brommie may be less painful since you don’t rest your upper body as much on the handlebars. Still pain when I squeeze the brakes, though. No real riding yet. I did some jogging yesterday (about 2.5 miles). That felt good, but today my right knee hurts. I hope that’s just because that knee took the harder hit rather than some other serious knee problem. Probably the former since my knee hadn’t been hurting in the aftermath of the fall. Another observation: My left hand/wrist hurts more when I wake up in the morning than during the day when I’m at work or loafing around the house. Sigh.

This has been my second fall since I got into biking again. My first was a sideways topple when I was testing some toe clips. Nothing serious there other than a scraped knee. This was more painful and we’ll see how long this keeps me down.

This happened on a Saturday afternoon. I was riding around the back of a heavily trafficked shopping center. I sometimes do this to avoid crazy drivers backing out of their parking spaces. Anyway, there was an elevated (about 1”) sewer drain in the middle of the back of this shopping center. Sort of like an elevated rectangle with a sewer in the middle. I guess I thought it wasn’t that high or maybe I wasn’t thinking about it so I went over it. I rode parallel and very close to one of its edges and the front wheel slipped off it and my bike went sideways. I went forward and landed on all fours.

I scraped my palms slightly and my right knee pretty good. My left wrist took the worst of the impact (although I didn’t scrape my left palm as bad as the right). My left wrist and lower forearm got slightly puffy and today (Monday) it is bruised purple. I didn’t go to the clinic because 1) it was a weekend and I didn’t want to wait 3 hours to get seen and 2) we’ve been having an outbreak of the swine flu in my area. I figured that sick people were there (or had been there) and I would most certainly catch something esp. if I had to wait 3 hours.

I do have a dull pain there, but it is not throbbing. Obviously, I can’t rest my left hand on handlebars so I’m not riding. Also, some motor skills like turning a doorknob are painful. I felt better yesterday (Sunday) and about the same today. I know I’m getting better since I had a hard time taking off my T-shirt Saturday night and I was able to do it a lot better on Sunday. I’ve been putting ice on it a couple of times a day and that makes it feel better. Advil really does a great job of making it feel better, but my stomach doesn’t get along with Advil so I don’t like to take it.

I googled wrist injuries and all recommend resting it and let time heal it. Ice it for the first 24-48 hours then heat treatments afterwards. We’ll see.

Folding bikes at LL Bean!

As you’ve noticed from this blog, I’m a big fan of folding bikes. They open up bicycling to a lot of people who would not consider it. I imagine that most Americans don’t have large SUVs or trucks to ferry bikes to places that are more bike friendly. For most cars, you can get bike racks to carry your full-sized bikes on the outside. However, that is an added expense. Folding bikes solve this problem.

Folders are also more storable for urban residents who don’t have a large garage or big backyard. People who live in large high rise apartments or condos can benefit from folders. Just fold the bike and put it in the corner of the room or closet.

So, I was really excited to see that LL Bean, a major retailer,is carrying Dahon folding bikes. The bikes that I saw were Dahon Ecos and they are selling them at $379. I had not seen the Eco before, but they look similar to the Dahon Mariner/Vitesse. (Dahon tends to sell the same bike under different names to retailers). I also know that REI, another national retailer, is selling the Novarra Buzz Fly By at its stores and online. The Fly By is basically the Dahon Mu with slightly lower level components.

Progress? I hope so. Snapped this pix of the Dahon Eco at my LL Bean store:

Find a Saddle and Stick to It

Saddles, or bicycle seats, are very personal choices. I’ve heard it described that your sit bones have a lot to do with your how well you like a particular saddle. Luckily, I’ve found one that works for me. It is the Bell Mountain Bike saddle. This particular saddle is available at places like Kmart and Walmart. And, I’ve never paid more than $20 for it. It has a dimple along the back and a hole more to the front. The indentions in the middle must be for a man’s prostate, which should not be pressed (by your weight) completely flat to any surface. The material of the saddle is vinyl. This saddle has no springs, but good cushioning.

As I’ve mentioned before, I don’t do any long distance rides and mostly use my bikes for commuting, running errands, and the occasional weekend ride. I hardly think about this saddle being there when I’m riding. It’s that comfortable. The only slight negative is that the saddle is sewn. During rainy days water can penetrate it. When there’s rain in the forecast and I’m leaving my bike out, I wrap it up in a grocery bag, though.

Give this saddle a shot. You may like it. (My specs: I don’t have a wide bottom, my waist is 34” and weigh around 170lbs.)