GlobeCycle

Source: AIRNow.gov Die hard bike commuters can justify riding in most conditions. Too cold? Bust out the balaclava and toe warmers. Too hot? Leave earlier in the morning to beat the heat. Rainy? Buy some good rain pants and a jacket. Windy? Put your head down and grind it out. Tornadoes? Ok, there's a limit to this... This is especially true in the San Francisco Bay Area given our normally mild weather. But what about when the air goes bad? By "bad" I mean air pollution rising to the unhealthy levels for days on end. Currently we are faced with that exact situation. A devastating wildfire in Butte county to our northwest has sent a blanket of smoke particles our way, elevating PM2.5 (nasty small particle pollution that can get into your bloodstream) to levels we rarely see. The air is thick, hazy, exceedingly dry and casting a post-apocalyptic pall over the whole region. Source: AIRNow.gov What is a cyclist to do? We are a susceptible group: ...

Riding under stunning skies at sunrise or sunset is inspiring and makes for great photos. If you are riding at this time, odds are part of your ride also happens during the time when the sun is low on the horizon. There is an insidious scenario that can turn certain parts of your route into a danger zone. Here's the recipe for danger: Riding on a road shared with cars, especially when there's no/minimal shoulder space Sun low on the horizon (and the horizon itself is low, minimal terrain above the drivers line of sight) Clear day. No clouds to block the direct sunlight  Road lined up with sun such that it's in your eyes (and even worse, in the eyes of drivers behind you) Combine these elements and your normal commute road becomes much riskier. The blinding sun is probably an annoyance to you personally, but the real problem is behind you. The automobile drivers, who are likely ~90% less "inspired" and attentive than you on the bike, are going to have a...

"Headlights on when it's dark enough to need them." That's all there is to it, right? Well, there are a few matters of etiquette that rarely get written down or spoken, but I'll try to lay out my version of them here. All the points listed here revolve around not blinding people (pedestrians, other cyclists, cars, etc.) and creating an annoying or even unsafe situation for others. Point your lights towards the ground.  Not horizontal, not upwards. This make a big difference in terms of not having the light seems painfully bright for folks you meet head-on. You don't want to point your headlight straight down, but based on your speed you probably want to illuminate the ground as best you can in front of you. Turn off the super-bright flashing headlight when it's dark, especially if there are bikes passing head-on. The super bright flashing light (e.g., the flash mode I have on my Niterider Lumina  (Retail: $99, got my 1100 series for $75 on ebay) is...

Cycling (especially the serious to semi-serious road riding bunch) definitely has noticeable fashion and gear trends. Right now it's all about bright pink and orange attire, giant mono-lens mirrored glasses, and Rapha. At least here in the Bay Area. There's one trend that I hope sticks around for good: blinking red tail lights. It used to be only for dorky commuters and night rides, but I'm pleased to see an increasing use amongst a huge range of riders. Now it's common to see a flashing light on a $10k+ rig rolling out on a clear day. Yay for safety! These things have become so bright, compact, long-lasting, and affordable that there's no reason not to have one (and use it). I bought my Portland Design Works Danger Zone Tail Light  (Retail: $30, good price: $23) more than 5 years ago . When the button stopped functioning well I emailed the company and they sent me a replacement within a couple days. I just had to show a picture that it wasn't due to ...

I was rolling along on the normal commute this morning and saw an almost-accident just in front of me. An e-bike (pretty serious rider - was in a full roadie kit) and a roadie commuter (also a pretty serious rider) were up ahead of me. The e-bike had just passed both of us as we got into the commercial ("downtown", ha!) part of Sausalito. All of the sudden the e-bike jammed on his brakes just short of a crosswalk. I think he noticed a police car next to him stopped in the turn lane so he decided to stop, too, out of an abundance of caution. The guy on the road bike started to brake behind him, but then the roadie realized no one was in the crosswalk so he passed on the e-bike on the left (always pass on the left! with a few exceptions I can cover another day...). At the point of deciding to pass, the roadie was now super close to the e-bike and they bumped shoulders pretty solidly and there was a solid 10+mph speed difference. No one went down, but it was close! And I can ...

Fog is a fact of life in the San Francisco Bay Area, and many other parts of the world. Some days it's really just a low overcast cloud layer that mutes the landscape but does little to deter our thoughts of riding. Other times it can be thick a pea soup. How safe is it to ride in such conditions? Let's break it down into a few factors: Fog, but not a safety factor given there is a protected bike lane and still plenty of visibility How thick is the fog? Not all fog is created equal. Once forward visibility gets below 50m / 160ft it starts to really affect traffic. In the SF Bay Area, it can get scary thick, down to 10m or so, especially in places like Daly City at the Skyline / Highway 1 interchange and on the way up to Mount Tam . Do you have lights? The most obnoxious, bright blinking lights are your friend when the fog rolls in. I wouldn't ride in heavy fog without something (or multiple things) on the rear, and probably also on the front if I am on a bike p...

Up until earlier this year, I was a messenger bag die hard. I loved my Timbuk2 bags for being bomb-proof, and they would go everywhere with me on and off the bike. Way, way back in the day I would use a messenger bag to commute a hilly 18 miles to get to high school loaded with heavy textbooks (do textbooks still even exist anymore?). But when I started up the Marin to SF commute earlier this year with regularity things were different. I started with a messenger bag, but the back sweat, pain, and general lack of comfort was too much to ignore. I finally, after all these years, switched to a backpack and I am glad I did. It certainly doesn't have the fashion (relative term here) of a messenger bag, but for longer rides it's a must. I find the asymmetric nature of the messenger bag to just be too much of a toll on my body over time. So is the messenger bag dead? Maybe it will never fully go away, but I think it's heyday is over. Heck, even Timbuk2 had made the switch - t...