Participating in these BRBC group rides has never been easier!

Beginning Monday 12/12/11, the Bike Sherpas Touring Co. will co-sponsor the Uptown Joe's "Lunch Vacation" Mountain Bike Ride and the Roanoke Bagel Company 3 Peaks & Adulare "Dream Rides".

The Bike Sherpas Touring Co. sponsorship is intended to make participating in these phenomenal weekly Blue Ridge Bicycle Club group rides easier, more fun and worry free. All riders need to do is get to the ride start with their bike ... and enjoy!

Guides from the Bike Sherpas Touring Co. will lead both rides and be carrying:

• extra water bottles, clean and filled with fresh filtered water, for ride participants
• comprehensive tool kit suitable for most trail/road side repairs and adjustments
• spare tubes for all applicable wheel/tire sizes
• tire pump as well as CO2 tire inflators
• first aid kit
• emergency blanket
• emergency use cell phone

In addition, anyone that attends these rides during the week of 12/12 will receive a FREE Bike Sherpas Touring Co. T-Shirt!

The Bike Sherpas Touring Co.  ... "We got the stuff."

Mia Birk's "Joyride" for $12 wholesale cost! Only 7 copies left! FREE bicycle delivery!

In an effort to catalyze the transformation of Roanoke into the bicycling capital of the east coast, this past April, copies of Mia Birk's incredible book "Joyride" were purchased directly from the publisher at the wholesale cost of $12 per copy. 

The simple goal was/is to get this transformative book into the hands of people in Roanoke so that they could read, talk about and share it.

There are 8 7 remaining copies available at this cost! 

We're also offering a *Holiday Bundle Super Deal* where for a measly $20 you can get a copy of "Joyride" and an incredible Bike Sherpas Touring Co. T-Shirt! Click here for t-shirt details.

To learn more about Joyride please visit www.miabirk.com 

*FREE Delivery* just send your address to orders@bikesherpas.com and either myself or one of my cycling cronies will pedal your new copy of Joyride to you!

Thanks for reading and please spread the word :D

Joyride: Pedaling Toward a Healthier Planet tells the dramatic and enlightening behind-the-scenes story of how a group of determined visionaries transformed Portland into a cycling mecca and inspired the nation.

Through a panoply of hilarious and poignant stories, Birk takes readers on a 20-year rollercoaster journey of global and local discovery and education, while bringing into sharp focus some of the planet's most pressing and hotly debated energy and transportation issues, policies, shortcomings, and solutions.

Wearable amazing Bicycle Art! Low cost + FREE Bicycle Delivery!

Roanoke Virginia artist and cyclist, Hunter Dickenson, created this for the Bike Sherpas Touring Co..

The piece is very distinctively a Hunter Dickenson design, and the creativity, talent and detail it contains are absolutely outstanding.

Click here to view and enjoy a full-size image ... and have fun trying to pick out every item the Bike Sherpa is carrying!

Roanoke's Press Press Merch is skillfully applying this art to t-shirts, sweatshirts and tank tops, and all of these items are available at just production cost plus a 10% artist fee, which comes to:

$11 - Short Sleeve T-Shirt (Item #1)
$13 - Long Sleeve T-Shirt (Item #2)
$15 - Women's Tank Top (Item #3)
$18 - Crew Neck Sweatshirt (Item #4)
$20 - Hoodie Sweatshirt (Item #5)

In addition to this clothing being comfortable, low-cost and great looking, they are all * fabulous stocking stuffers * that promote and support cycling, art and Roanoke's newest bicycle (ad)venture ... the Bike Sherpas Touring Co..

To order, simply send an email to orders@bikesherpas.com with the Item Number, Quantity, Size, your cell phone number and the delivery address.

Orders are being accepted now through Thursday December 15th, and items will be delivered by bicycle to anyone within a 50 mile radius of Roanoke. Shipping is also available at a nominal additional cost.

Here's a proof of the Short Sleeve T-Shirt design:

Additionally, look for another design "Bicycle Sherpas LOGO T-Shirts" to be coming, and ...

If there's a clothing, casual wear or cycling accessory idea that you have for the Bike Sherpas Touring Co., please send your suggestions to rob@bikesherpas.com. Thank you!

Get a great shirt, a work of art, and support and promote cycling and local artists ... all for $12?!!!

Astonishingly, yes, this is now possible! Because ...

The art found on each "The Bike Sherpas Touring Co." product is created by a local artist, and 10% of what each item sells for is paid to the artist. Always.

So, in addition to getting a super comfortable shirt and helping to promote cycling and The Bike Sherpas Touring Co. ... when you buy one of the new "The Bike Sherpas Touring Co." long-sleeve t-shirts for $12 you are also purchasing a work of art and supporting a local artist.

And, our shirts are being produced by Press Press Merch, a fantastic Roanoke company with a reputation for "providing the best looking merchandise possible with fast turnaround times and unprecedented customer service." 

This week the art & designs for the first two shirts will be posted here and the artists will be announced.

If you're interested in purchasing a shirt please send an email to robertissem@gmail.com with the size(s) you would like.

If you're an artist and would like to promote cycling by creating art for "The Bike Sherpas Touring Co.", while earning 10% on the sales of all products that carry your art, please email me as well!

The Bike Sherpas Touring Co. ~ Your Bicycle Adventure Support Team

To operate a bicycle touring company has been a dream of mine for a long long time and I've recently been inspired to begin living that dream!

The touring company's domain is www.bikesherpas.com, and our plan is to begin offering back country mountain bike 1/2 day, single and multi-day tours, guided tours of regional trail systems, and road cycling tours.

Initially, The Bike Sherpas Touring Co. will feature tours in the incredible regions surrounding Roanoke Virginia, and plans for tours in other states and countries are also in development.

We will be having a planning / idea party in the next few weeks, and we need bike sherpas / guides, so if you are interested in the ridiculous levels of fun bike sherpas are famous for creating, please email robertissem@gmail.com and I'll keep you posted.

In the mean time ... dream :)

What kind of bike trip would really turn you on and where? No limits. If it's your bike sherpa / guide / adventure dream then let's explore it!

The term "Bike Sherpas" is used to refer to people employed as guides for bicycling expeditions, particularly in regions of the Blue Ridge Mountains surrounding Roanoke, Virginia. They are highly regarded as passionate cyclists, super experts in their local terrain and titans of fun.

Please Wear a Bicycle Helmet because ...

... "in 2009, 630 cyclists were killed in motor vehicle crashes in the U.S.. 574 (91%) of those killed were not wearing a helmet."


"Kudos to ... the infrastructure and education that allow Dutch cyclists to let their hair down (ride bicycles safely without helmets), but comparing the Netherlands to the US is still very much apples to grapefruits."


Check out the new (December 2011) issue of Bicycle Times for more inspiration on wearing a helmet while cycling in the US, and ... please wear a helmet.

Uptown Joe's "Lunch Vacation" Mountain Bike Ride

One minute you're sitting in a downtown cafe, 7 minutes later you're riding sweet singletrack on your mountain bike and grinning from ear to ear. 


Welcome to Roanoke Virginia :D


So what's Uptown Joe's "Lunch Vacation" Mountain Bike Ride? It's a free 45 minute getaway on the trails of Mill Mountain that starts and ends at Uptown Joe's, 611 S Jefferson Street, Roanoke, VA. And when you return, a delicious, healthy, affordable lunch and outrageously amazing donuts are all ready and waiting for you!


Here are a photoshow video and details of the route. Enjoy!

Ride Straight Over Glass! a potentially life saving road riding lesson from my 12yr old son.

When my family was biking home from our friend's presentation on their cross country bicycle adventure at the downtown library Tuesday evening, we were all riding on the shoulder of Grandin Road and I watched as my son Andrew rode right through a bunch of broken glass.

My first reaction was "Andrew, what the heck! Why did you just ride through all that glass?"

But then I thought about this some more.

Andrew didn't notice the glass in the road until it was too late for him to avoid it. That just happens sometimes. But what if he had noticed it 2 seconds sooner? Would he have instinctively swerved left, potentially into traffic, to avoid it?

I hope not.

The simple lessons herein are:

• only swerve to avoid glass in the road if you are 106% certain there are no cars next to you or approaching, and
• be prepared to ride straight over glass

Since there's quite a bit of glass on roads and shoulders, does this mean we will constantly be repairing flats?

Not if you have tires made out of solid steel!

Just kidding - all you really need are tires that are expressly designed to be super puncture resistant.

An incredible example of these are the Continental Gator Hardshell line of tires.

I purchased a set of these from East Coasters and on a recent ride I was bragging about them to my friend Alex Bordwine. Alex became sick of hearing me talk about my tires, he disappeared into a nearby restaurant, and came out with a big knife and an ice-pick!

7 minutes later Alex was lying on the ground, completely exhausted from wildly stabbing and slicing at my bicycle tires.

My Continental Gator Hardshells ... unfazed.

About that time Hulk Hogan was walking by and Alex strained to lean upward a little bit. He groaned to Hulk Hogan "help me" and he extended the knife and ice-pick to the greatest wrestler of all time. Hogan attacked my Gator Hardshells with fury and a crowd soon gathered as Hulkamania ran completely wild.

I won't go into all the gory details but when the ambulance arrived and 8 men hauled Hulk Hogan off on a stretcher - my Continental Gator Hardshells were still holding air.

Hulk Hogan is still in intensive care 18 days after his
encounter with my Continental Gator Hardshells.

1st Annual Star City Bicycle vs Automobile Challenge

Which is faster, easier and more fun - getting around Roanoke by bike or car? Check out this video to find out!

Bike Month Day 25: Man bicycles himself out of high blood pressure!

John suffered from high blood pressure. He was prescribed medication to a try to reduce it to a safe level, but it wasn't working.

According to the Mayo Clinic, the dangers associated with high blood pressure are numerous and both life and quality of life threatening. (I've copied a list of some these dangers to the end of this post - click here to visit the Mayo Clinic website for more details.)

One month ago John's car died, which may seem unfortunate, but as it turns out ... the death of John's car was very agreeable to John's heart.

Without a car, John began bicycling to get around, and in the video below John shares what happened:

John joyfully spoke to the staff at East Coasters about his new bicycling life. I caught up with him as he was leaving and John was nice enough to talk to me all about bicycling too, and ...

I noticed that John had equipped his bike with Dinotte bicycle lighting. I'm a bicycle hi-vis lighting geek, and I'd heard about the super-bright ultra-high visibilty (and expensive) Dinotte lighting, but I'd never seen a set in person.

Since John is riding on the roads all the time I'm really happy and feel safe knowing my new found cycling friend has invested in this incredible lighting system.

Check out this video to see just how impressive John's Dinotte 400L lighting system is:

So, if like John, you've got high blood pressure, I hope you find some comfort in this post ... in knowing that a fun resolution could be as simple as enjoying bicycling to get around.

And if you will be bicycling, please consider running ultra-high visibility lighting day and night to help keep you safe :)


Here are some of the Dangers Associated with High Blood Pressure (from www.mayoclinic.com):

• Artieries 
• Artery damage and narrowing. 
• Aneurysm. 
• Heart 
• Coronary artery disease. 
• Left Ventricular Hypertrophy - thickening or stiffening of the left ventricle which increases your risk of heart attack, heart failure and sudden cardiac death. 
• Heart Failure 
• Brain 
• Transient ischemic attack (TIA). 
• Stroke 
• Dementia 
• Mild Cognitive Impairment 
• Kidneys 
• Failure 
• Scarring 
• Kidney Artery Aneurysm 
• Eyes 
• Blood Vessel Damage 
• Fluid Build up Under the Retina 
• Sexual Dysfunction 
• Erectile Dysfunction 
• Decreased Sexual Desire / Arousal 
• Vaginal Dryness 
• Difficulty Achieving Orgasm

Bike Month Product Review: Terry Cite-X Gel

During an earlier chapter of my fiancé Lisa's life she went 9+ years without a car. She bicycled everywhere, carried her bike up and down stairways daily, but one of the things she disliked about bicycling was the uncomfortable bike seats.


When the carless years of Lisa's life drew to a close she thought and said often "if my ass never touches a bike seat again it'll be too soon."


Fast forward to 2010.


Lisa is courted by a bicycle nut job, yours truly, and I'm really hoping to enjoy cycling with Lisa and her son Mark.


I got her a  beautiful Trek Belleville but it came with a recycled plastic seat. Lisa tried it and then she took it off the bike, put it in the middle of our driveway, poured gasoline on it, set it on fire, and drove over it six times with her car. Not really, but that accurately depicts how she felt about it.


So I replaced that seat with a much more comfortable looking model from Planet Bike which was a huge improvement - but still not great.


Then we acquired a tandem and in an effort to try to find something more comfortable I outfitted the stoker position with the coziest looking saddle from Eleven81 and ... she didn't like it at all.


I almost started to think that there may not be a bicycle saddle that Lisa actually likes. In her words "When I ride, even if just for a short period of time, my sit bones hurt." 


I wasn't ready to give up yet, and in retrospect, it would have probably been a good idea to have started with "The Original Women's Cycling Company" Terry Precision Bicycles for Women. 


I installed the Terry Cite-X Gel on Lisa's bike, she rode it and said ...

I love this seat! She says the Terry is the first bike seat she's ever ridden that doesn't hurt.


Lisa thought it'd be nice to tell all women who've had trouble finding a comfortable saddle about Terry ~ so here we are :D

Bike Month Days 18-20: *741% Less Cursing*, PromBomb, & Disco Racing!

Friday 5/20: While our first attempt to bicycle Lisa's son to Green Valley Elementary School was a disaster (see Misery. Pure unadulterated uncut misery.), Lisa did create a tiny thread of hope when she said "if I'm going to ride routes like that I need a bike with more gears, that's lighter, and has skinnier & faster rolling tires".

I knew I could create just such a bike with a little help from my long time cronies over at EastCoasters.

EastCoasters had everything we needed in stock
so Mark & I rode over and Dave Tompkins hooked
us up! 

Later that evening, I modified Lisa's trusty old GT mountainbike, replacing the saddle with a Terry Cite-X Gel, replacing the knobby tires with Bontrager SR1s, adding ultra-high visibility lights to both ends (front: Planet Bike Blaze, rear: Blackburn Mars 4.0) and the cherry on top - new Pearl Izumi Select Cycling Gloves. 

Compared to her Trek Belleville, Lisa's modified GT is lighter, has many more gears, and should also be more comfortable and faster.

The result? On Friday we did try bicycling Mark to school again and ...

741% less cursing! There was still some, but so much less that this bicycling Mark to school craziness just might become a regular part of our mornings :)

The lovely Green Valley Greeter Ladies are helping
us dial-in our drop off positioning.

After another breakfast date at Star City Coffee, unbelievably, Lisa agreed to ride back to Mark's school! I wanted to check out another route option and Lisa was game :)

Our original route was very direct, but it included a steep climb on Overdale Rd and a short, but treacherous section along a particularly busy and narrow part of Colonial Ave:

The route we discovered after breakfast is slightly longer than our original route (1.74 miles vs 1.31) but it eliminates both riding on Colonial (we just cross Colonial) and the Overdale climb:

The average grade is also less on the new route, but it contains a life threatening hazard - loose dogs! Lisa was relentlessly chased by this man eater!

Later that same day, we biked to the post office with Mark to put our first round of wedding invitations in the mail!

To be sure I didn't try anything funny, Mark kept me at
gunpoint during our post office errand.

Thursday 5/19: STARBOMB! On the Thursday closest to the full moon each month an antique bus takes anyone willing and their kids bicycles from downtown to the Mill Mt. Star.

Starbombers & our faithful driver Cedric in front of an antique bus whose 

use is donated each month by the Commonwealth Coach & Trolley Museum 

From here we downhill "race" on these mini (kids) bicycles, through the darkness, all the way back to downtown where we have a mini critical mass ride and ... afterparty at Flannery's! 

to my immense delight, the signature drink of STARBOMB has become Irish Car Bombs!

Wednesday 5/18: Tennis practice was cancelled Wednesday evening due to rain in Salem, which opened the window for me to race in the Singlespeed class in the Wednesday Night Disco Race Series. As soon as I realized tennis was a no-go, I scrambled to get to the race start as fast as I could but was I still was late so I started 8.5 minutes behind the field. I didn't care though, I was so excited to be able to participate, to try to ride fast, and to see and hang with my racing cronies a bit.

There were only three singlespeed racers, and one was racing

 in his first ever race,  so I managed to get one of these awesome awards!

Bike Month Day 17: "Misery. Pure unadulterated uncut misery."

That's how my fiancé Lisa described taking her son Mark to Green Valley Elementary School by bicycle with me this morning.

According to the greeter ladies in front of Green Valley who were delighted to see three humans arriving without huge metal boxes around them - we were the first ever to drop a child off by bicycle ... but as Lisa will colorfully describe, it wasn't easy.

On pedaling her ~35lb Trek Belleville 3-spd up the hills on View Ave, Poplar Dr and Overdale Rd, Lisa is clear "It just sucks. It just sucks."

There were moments when it wasn't clear if I was going to survive this mini-adventure turned mega-debacle. Probably the only reason I'm alive and typing right now is that the reward for lugging our bikes back over those hills was a breakfast date at Star City Coffee House.

We actually arrived there a few minutes before they opened and while we waited Lisa clarified the qualities of the bike she needs if she's going to ride routes like that "more gears, lighter, skinnier & faster rolling tires".

She was pissed off as she was exclaiming this, so I wore an empathetic expression on the side of my face that was facing Lisa ... but I couldn't stop the smile that was growing on the other side.

Because beneath her stream of profanities that would have flabbergasted truck drivers, sailors & vikings, Lisa's tough, a great athlete, and the Vegas odds makers are saying the good money's on her falling in love with bicycling in Roanoke - even the Star City's hills.

This morning (Friday BM Day 18) when Lisa's son Mark was walking out of the house to go to school he enthusiastically said "so we're riding!"

Lisa "no you're taking the bus".

Mark "WHAT! I want to bicycle!"

That boy likes to bike ;)

So here's where this story gets bigger and even more strange and interesting. While it has rained every day during Bike Month 2011 ... somehow more and more people are bicycling!

Last night when I pedaled to the Cave Spring Corner Kroger I was one of three people who had bicycled there! And there's not even a bike rack at this store, yet ...

I met Chris Kingsbury at the Red Box and he said he loves riding his bike and rarely drives. He works at Texas Steakhouse and says "riding really gets you going, and when you arrive at work you feel ready to rock & roll". Any employers out there who are considering incentivizing bike commuting - take note of that quote!

And then there was this bike, locked to a parking lot light base.

Just a common mountain bike. But, in my opinion, mountain bikes are short changed by there names. They are really anywhere super bikes. Add fenders, rear rack, milk crate and visibility lights and you've got a comfortable commuter utility bike. Road riding? No problem. Fire roads? No problem. Singletrack trails? Come on - I'm starting to salivate here! Bring'm!

If you're reading this and you've not yet tasted the magic of riding a bicycle during Bike Month 2011 I hope you treat yourself today!

Bike Month Hump Day: I did *not* ride & as a result ...

i didn't feel as good, physically or emotionally, as i did the prior 15 days.

i had bicycled every one of bike month days 1 thru 15, but yesterday morning i put on my Bontrager reflective shell and opened the back door to bike to work ... and it was raining, again.

i said to myself "to heck with this, i'm driving".

it had rained every day for seemingly as long as i can remember and it had gotten to me. as i walked back into the house to grab the car keys Lisa said "what are you doing?"

me "it's raining. AGAIN. i'm driving."

Lisa "really? you're wussing out? it's not raining that hard."

that little pep talk nearly worked.

Lisa knows me pretty well and on another day those very words may have been all i needed to ride, but i'd deeply rationalized my being a wuss by that point.

• drive rationalization #1 - my Passat wagon had become a warehouse for tennis gear, which i completely unloaded at my office, improving fuel economy and making more room for passengers.
• drive rationalization #2 - the wagon was a mess, inside and out, and i had a fantastic travelling car detailer Paul Mercer (540-589-1217) come to my office and beautify the Passat while i worked. i can't recommend Paul highly enough. he does incredible work, he's inexpensive, the convenience is unparalleled, you save money and time over driving your car to a detailer somewhere and then having someone pick you up and give you a ride back, and Paul is just a great guy - so it feels good to support him with my business.
• drive rationalization #3 - because i've been driving so little, i actually still had the winter tires on my Passat, and i really needed to have them removed and my Bridgestone Ecopia (low-rolling resistance, fuel saving, all-season) tires reinstalled.

a redeeming joy was that that i grabbed my skateboard when i picked up my Ecopia tires from my old home, dropped the car off at Oak Grove Firestone to have the tires swapped, and i skateboarded and walked home from there :)

in this photo: zero skateboard, bontrager sport packable wind jacket, shiny VW Passat TDI

so while i didn't feel as good when i arrived at work in a car, i did make the most of a driving day, and i loved skating home. 

as i was going to bed i thought "wow, i didn't ride at all today" and i knew in that moment that i wanted to ride  all the rest of days of bike month ... and beyond ;)

Bike Month Day 15: Celebration Time + peopleforbikes.org!

the day started by me and Mark being killed repeatedly by Andrew in some DS download game, then we worked on getting ready for our ultra-mega yardsale that's coming up next Saturday, which was followed by 7+ hours of back-to-back junior team tennis matches! both goofballs teams had crazy amounts of fun and played really well.

it was after 7pm by the time i was headed home, i hadn't been on a bicycle yet, so i called home to Lisa and asked "could we celebrate by riding our bicycles to Pop's Ice Cream & Soda Bar?"

celebration time!

we're both sitting on the deck of our xtracycle outside of the world's greatest ice cream & soda bar  while Mark reads "spy vs spy" and works on a vanilla cone

speaking of celebrations - i recently discovered some great videos created by peopleforbikes.org to celebrate bike month!

peopleforbikes.org is trying to unite 1 million+ voices "to speak with one powerful voice—to let policy makers, the media and the public know that bicycling is important and should be promoted". please check out http://www.peopleforbikes.org/ and consider taking the pledge.

also, head down to one of your local East Coasters Bike Shops and pick up one of a variety of cool peopleforbikes pins for FREE! here's Andrew's super cool mountain biker for bikes pin:

here's a couple of the video's peopleforbikes.org have created celebrating bike month. enjoy!

Bike Month Day 14: Flat City & Bicycling's Contagious

Friday afternoon and evening Andrew and I were to bike home from his school, then bike to Garst Mill Park for Mark's U8 junior team tennis practice, then bike to the Salem Civic Center for Andrew's U12 jtt practice, then bicycle to Andrew's friend Brett's house to "pick him up" and all pedal back to our house together. But then Andrew tells me ...

"Brett wants to come over now and bike everywhere with us." I replied "Does Brett know all the places we're biking to?"

Andrew "Yeah - he wants to come."

I was thinking that couldn't possibly be true because while Brett's a great athlete I know he doesn't bike those distances regularly, if ever, so ...

Me "Let me talk to Brett's mom."

It turns out Brett did understand all the riding that was on the menu, as did his parents, and he did indeed want to come. And so he did :)

Heavy rain began right at the end of the U8 practice (which cancelled Andrew's practice - the longest leg of our planned travels) so Brett, Andrew & I just rode home in the downpour, soaked to the bone, laughing & smiling from ear to ear.

Once the rain had stopped they wanted to ride some more ...

Evening ride to Cave Spring Corner for fun & snacks. 

Saturday, our family schedule was crazy packed. And, as seems to be the case with every day of this Bike Month, it rained some more.

Mark's had some puddle fun while I watched ...

Andrew's LAX team play really well and finish their season with an exciting win!

which was followed by a team pizza party

Once we finally made it home from the day's events we were all in agreement that it was time for a family bike ride. 

As we were getting ready, Mark was riding the Wigglegoose around the driveway and took a spill. That's so common I didn't think much of it at first but then I realized the bike had a flat front tire.

Mark's BMX had a flat rear tire whose fix had been the object of my procrastination, so I decided to fix it ... but I made the silly mistake of not removing the little upholstery nail that caused the flat before installing the new tube. It thought I'd removed it the other day, but apparently I decided to include it's removal in my procrastination.

Mark's BMX suffered two rear flats and the Wigglegoose a front flat

So Mark was able to ride for 85% of our family bicycle ride, all of us zooming along Fleetwood and then splashing thru puddles on the Garst Mill Greenway ... then for the remaining 15% of our "ride" the boys took over the tandem, Lisa pushed Mark's bike with a flat tire, and I rode Andrew's BMX along side her.

Patches are in our near future ;)

Bike Month Day 14: bonus bike "jump" video crash footage

Don't worry, Andrew didn't even get a scratch in this wreck. Just a bike seat poke in the butt cheek ;)

Bike Month Day 11 - Folding Lawn Chair to the Rescue!

Andrew's tennis team (Episode IV: Return of the Goofballs) had a match yesterday so before i pedaled to work i tried to be sure i had everything i needed both for work and the match.

fail.

i forgot Andrew's racquet bag and something else ... i knew i was forgetting something else but it wasn't until 4:39pm, while i was pedaling the xtracycle to the match that i realized I NEED A TABLE!

one of the highlights of junior team tennis matches are the snacks and drinks! the parents of the home team provide these for all the kids and put them out on the TABLE for the players. that is, if the coach remembers to bring the table.

i need to be at the courts in 20 minutes, i'm on my bike, and i have no table. i try to quickly turn around but there's a load of car traffic on brandon ave.. i ride back to my office and find - no folding table. i fly out of my office, back on the xtracycle and head in the opposite direction of the tennis courts toward a Family Dollar store. no folding table - but as i streaked through the aisles an el-cheapo tri-fold lawn chair caught my eye ... that'll do!

i roped it onto the xtracycle, then did my best impersonation of Lemond's 1989 Tour de France Final Time Trial to the tennis courts, arriving just in time to get the team warmed up and ready for some big fun.

Andrew's team played well! for his team winning = having fun + doing your best. our team won on every court, and the other team did too :)

match complete & all packed up (note the lawn chair in the left freeloader pocket) 

what the heck is that?!

i bet some people think or exclaim those words when they're approaching our xtracycle (sport utility bicycle) from behind because of this:

i take being seen, especially by distracted motorists, very seriously for lots of reasons ...

these BIG reasons

& her

& her

and all my beloved family & friends. plus i really enjoy being alive and well, and ...

because i care about motorists too. drivers don't want to hit bicyclists, it's horrible for everyone when accidents occur, but the fact is that cyclists are the smallest and least visible users of the roads, so at times it can be hard for even good, alert drivers to see us.

by using the ultra-high-visibility bicycle lighting that's now both available and inexpensive, we protect ourselves and our loved ones and we make it easier for motorists to safely share the roads with us.

my top three ultra-high-visibility lighting pics are:

#1 - PDW Radbot 1000

#2 - Blackburn Mars 4.0

#3 - Planet Bike Superflash

i own all three of these, and another new model that i'm anxious to try is the Planet Bike Superflash Turbo which doubles the light output of the already awesome Superflash.