Category: Bike

Is Bakersfield A Safe Place To Ride A Bicycle?

On By Michel McDonaldIn Bike, CyclingLeave a comment

Is Bakersfield a safe place to ride a bicycle?

This article was in today’s Bakersfield Californian newspaper.

In my opinion it is only safe to ride a bicycle if you are a defensive rider.  If you are watching where you are going, looking both left and right, never crossing the street unless you have the green light (or in some cases walk signal).  Never riding on the wrong side of the road then crossing while a car is turning left (which happened to me).

This one time I was leaving the bike path and I was crossing the street and this pickup truck was pulling out in front of me while he was looking right at me.  He nearly ran me over.  This was about 10am in the morning too so it’s not like he was drinking and driving… that I know of at least.

I have a little mirror that is attached to my helmet and I’m constantly looking at it to see the traffic behind me so I know what is coming at me.

Now I cannot say that it is 100% safe to ride as early as I do because even at 4:30am there are probably still some drunk drivers out there but usually when I ride that early there are maybe 1 or 2 cars every 10 minutes so it’s pretty safe where and when I ride.

You also have to consider the fact that I’m not riding in the busy streets along with traffic.  I start out in a neighborhood and I’m pretty much only in neighborhoods until I get to the bike path so there is not that much danger of getting hit.  And I know a route that gets me to the mall and to Target where it’s through neighborhoods and I never have to drive with traffic.

So is Bakersfield a safe place to ride a bicycle?  I think it is during the morning or during the daytime IF you aren’t driving in traffic where there are no bike paths or where cars are parked right in the bike path.  If you try to ride through neighborhoods then you are safe.  But if you drive alongside cars then there is never a guarantee that you are ever safe.  Even if you are crossing the street you aren’t ever safe because there are always reports of people getting killed while crossing the street.  Is it safe for me to ride here?  Yes, because I am a defensive rider and I pick the best safest routes.

If you live in a city that you aren’t sure where the safest routes are, why not just go to your favorite map website, I go to google maps and I map out my route then I adjust the route so I am going through neighborhoods then I print it out and hold it while riding through that neighborhood so I learn it so the next time I have to go that way I will remember.  And if I don’t remember then I print it out again (if I threw the old map out that is).

New Bike Seat and Wood Burning Stuff

On By Michel McDonaldIn Bike, craftsLeave a comment

New Bike Seat:

I just bought my new bike seat finally.  It’s an Ergo bicycle seat which means it has no “horn”.  It’s just the butt part.  The one I bought is the “Classic” Vinyl Bicycle Seat with the black sheepskin cover.  The sheepskin is supposed to add more cush for the tush.  It was a bit pricey at $67 after the shipping cost but it’s worth it to me to have a bicycle seat that doesn’t make me numb in places that make me blush to mention.  Also my left leg has had some pain shooting down from the crotch area and that’s not good so this is going to be great to have.

Update: I just got an email from the bicycle seat website that I bought the seat from and the guy who is in charge of it all sent me an email saying it will take him 4 to 5 days before he can send it out because there was a tragic death in the family.  Poor guy.  I can wait.  4 to 5 days would be Monday or Tuesday when he can send them out.  That’s fine, I wasn’t really expecting it to be sent out until then anyway because of the 4th of July weekend.  I can be patient.  I was hoping it would’ve been shipped out today though so I could get it by Monday but that’s fine.

Wood Burning Stuff:

I’ve been wanting to go to Michael’s to buy some wood burning stuff but their wood burning section is too small.  So instead I went to the Walnut Hollow website.  They have a special discount for the 4th of July, all you do is type in Made in the USA when you checkout.  It didn’t work for me, probably because all the things I bought are already discounted.  Here are the things I bought.

I don’t normally brag every time I buy something… ok yeah I do but I just wanted to brag about these things lol.  All the wood burning stuff from Walnut Hollow came out to about $38.58 after the $10 UPS shipping.  Which is not a bad price to pay for shipping considering the alphabet set and the numbers set at Michael’s costs $28 each.  And all that wood that I bought they don’t sell the irregulars at Michael’s but they are expensive there.  I would guess that I’d have to pay about $15 or $20 each for those.  So I think I got a really good deal on everything.  The hotstamps everyday series and word series, I probably will never use those or maybe use them once but who freakin’ cares, .50 cents dude!  The books were not in the “Great Deals” section which I like to call bargain bin but that’s ok.  $5.29 for a book is great and the other one that is 99 cents is a thin book.  No biggy.

I can’t wait to get all that stuff especially the seat.  Oh boy do I need that seat because I’ve already added 3 miles to my ride thanks to that homeless guy at the rest stop.  But you know, thanks to him for creeping me out and pushing me to go further lol.

Spoke Wrench

On By Michel McDonaldIn BikeLeave a comment

I just came back from Snider’s Cyclry, I had to get a spoke wrench for my bike.  I was going to wait until I got my check then have them “true” the wheel but I wasn’t sure how expensive it would be.  The guy at Snider’s told me it would only cost $17 but probably more depending on how bad it was and it’s pretty bad lol.

He asked if I’ve ever “trued” a bike before and I said no but I’ve been doing a lot of research on how to do it with watching YouTube videos and reading tutorials and stuff because I’ve read if you don’t do it right you can screw it up and you’ll have to buy a new wheel.  He said yeah and he showed me how to do it which was nice.

He said that a truing stand would cost like $75 or so which I don’t have that kind of money but he told me that you can put the wheel in your front fork where the front wheel goes and put a zip tie on the fork about where the top of the wheel is as a guide so when you are moving the wheel near that zip tie you will be able to see if it needs to go in which direction.

I’m not quite sure I remember everything he told me but I’m going to do my best.  I just want to save the $17 or so so I can buy my seat next in 2 weeks.

Well, I’m off to go try to “true” my back wheel in the front fork hehe.  Wish me luck.  And as always I will edit this post when I’m finished with a YAY I did it or oh crap I screwed it up and now I can’t ride my bike until I can get a new wheel lol.

Edit: I am happy to say that it worked out.  I didn’t totally 100% true my back wheel but it doesn’t wobble anymore.  I tried doing what he said by putting the back wheel on the front fork but it’s not the right size because of the freewheel (the thing that the chain goes on) made it too big.  So what I did was I put the zip tie on the fork for the front wheel and did a little practice test on the front wheel.  That worked out perfectly because the front wheel needed to be trued a little too.  So then I put another zip tie on the back wheel and I trued that as best as I could and then went out on a test ride and perfection.  Well, 95% perfection lol.  I didn’t want to mess with it too much and end up screwing it up.  But it was much easier than I thought because of that zip tie.

Bike Seat Issues

On By Michel McDonaldIn Bike1 Comment

Lately I’ve been coming home from my 2 hour bicycle ride numb in an area that would normally make me blush to mention.  I know that it’s my seat that is causing the problem because of the “nose” of the seat (yes, my crotch sits on a nose for 2 hours lol).

I have one of those gel cushions for my seat because the seat (they call them “saddles”) is really hard and I refuse to sit on a seat that hard with my body weight.  I can’t recall how much the gel seat cost me, maybe it was about $10 I’m sure, I bought it from Nashbar and that is how much they charge for them.  I’ve been using that all this time, last year for a couple of months and now this year for a couple of months.

It hasn’t bothered me before but lately I’ve come home from my bike ride and go to use the restroom and notice I can’t feel anything in my appendage (giggle I said appendage).

So I decided that it’s time to find out what’s going on and what to do about it.  Apparently it is a common thing for men who sit on a bicycle for hours and hours.  It can cause temporary impotence (YIKES!) in men and it may also probably lead to serious problems in the future because you are pressing down on your arteries and your colon so you can expect problems.

There is a solution and it is a new type of seat which has no nose, instead your butt takes all of the impact.  Here is a picture:

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This seat is going to cost me $63 plus shipping of course because it’s coming from Canada.  It is called Spongy Wonder and frankly I can’t wait to get it.  It is going to relieve a lot of my issues and I won’t have to keep standing on my peddles during my ride to relieve myself down there all the time.  They have an optional seat cover for an additional $16 which I will not be able to buy right away but perhaps in August I can buy that.  I’m going to have to wait until July to buy this seat because I am flat broke right now but there’s only 2 more weeks until I get more money so I can wait 2 weeks.

Other models I have seen cost around $79 and up and this is just the right price.  The cheaper the better.  Well, cheap in price but hopefully the same good quality you know?  I’m probably going to be bashed for buying outside of the US during our bad economy but I really don’t care because I need something that I can afford and I really need this now because it is becoming a medical issue.  I will be looking at other websites, after all, I do have 2 weeks to decide before I place my order.  If I do find another place that is US-based then I will choose that and of course you know I will be making a post about it lol.

Update: I am looking at the 2 other noseless seats and the one that is $79 is also from a Canadian websiteTesco-Shopping and it looks exactly like the $63 one.  Then there is the Spiderflex which is $110 plus $12 shipping so I definitely will not be buying from them.  I don’t know if they are in Canada or not, they aren’t releasing that information but they ship there and to Europe but in their shipping page they do show a map of the US showing delivery times lol.  I’m pretty sure that these 3 companies are the only ones who are selling these seats but I will keep looking.  I’m willing to pay $63 because it is a small price to pay to prevent colon problems and/or impotence lol.

I found it! Bicycle Seats | Ergo Seats this is perfect.  It’s basically the same as my regular seat but without the nose so it’s basically a half seat.  The positive of this is the price.  It’s the right price for me at $30 – $50 plus $30 for a sheepskin cover (optional).  I’m thinking maybe I can get the seat in July then the sheepskin cover in August.  That is if the seat is really that hard that I need to buy the sheepskin cover.  This is the perfect seat.  Check out the link for pictures.  Oh and by the way, this website is in Washington State!

Bike Cam Video

On By Michel McDonaldIn BikeLeave a comment

Here is that video on YouTube.  Yesterday I inserted it into my previous post but I figured it deserved its own post so here it is.  Note that it’s better to watch the video through YouTube because you can comment, rate and subscribe to my channel hehe.

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYOZZi156CM

Bike Cam Vid Done

On By Michel McDonaldIn BikeLeave a comment

I got my bike cam video on the computer without issue (YES!).  I found 3 good songs to put in the video and used my Adobe Soundbooth to mix them like a DJ would lol.  I added the song then sped up the 20 minute video to 8 1/2 minutes so it fits with the songs.  It’s all ready to go, I just need to get it on YouTube.

I was a bit disappointed that the video was shaking so much, I mean from side to side because of the handlebars but when you are riding a bike you can’t keep it from doing that lol.  It is physically impossible to get the video to be still constantly the entire time.  Especially when it’s mounted to the handlebars.  If it were mounted on my helmet then perhaps that would be different but on the other hand every time I move my head up or down or left or right or behind me, the video moves too so it sees everything I look at which would be way more annoying lol.

Bike Cam Video

On By Michel McDonaldIn BikeLeave a comment

I went back on the bike trail today with my camcorder hooked up to my mount that I made and when I came home I immediately hooked the camcorder up to the computer and it didn’t fail the import, it failed on Saturday morning.  I’m still confused as to why it did that but that’s ok because watching the video showed me how much I need to stop moving the bike from left to right so much when video taping lol.

It’s always a learning experience right?

So anyway, now that I have it on the computer I can make it go fast and add some music to it.  It’s a 20 minute video but I’m going to speed that up so it fits about 2 or 3 songs so hopefully about 8 or 9 minutes.  I don’t want to bore people too much but at the same time I don’t want it to go so fast that you can’t see what’s happening you know lol.

So, I’m going to be working on that for awhile.  I can’t upload it to YouTube until I get some money because this program that I use which is the best program, Pinnacle VideoSpin.  It’s a free program with conditions.  You get I think 2 weeks free use out of it then after that you have to pay $15 for the codec, otherwise you won’t even be able to import your video into the software.  I’ve tried other programs like windows movie maker, I also bought Adobe Premiere Elements 3 and those 2 programs won’t let you make your movie for YouTube to be able to have it in widescreen.  Your video ends up having the bars on top and bottom but also on the right and left.  That’s no good.

So, until I get the codec for it when I get money then I will upload that video.  I’m also going to take the opportunity to do some other videos while I’m at it of some video games then just do them all on the same day.

Bike Video

On By Michel McDonaldIn Bike, ExerciseLeave a comment

I brought the video camera today on my ride and when I got to the bike trail I hooked it up and started recording.  My starting point was Truxton and Mohawk and my ending point was Manor St.  The whole video was 20 minutes and 25 seconds.

I turned the video camera off and put the camcorder back in the camera bag inside the grocery bag on the side of the rack.  I get home and watched it on the dvd player (which is actually a dvd recorder, I deleted a scene with me talking because my head was cut off) then I put the dvd back in the camcorder and hook it up to the computer to upload it.  Failed import. I don’t know why or what happened.  I put the dvd into the dvd drive and it also failed.

So what this means is I gotta do it again lol.  I was hoping to be able to take the mount off and put it in the camera bag for future use if I ever wanted to use it again somewhere else but I guess it will have to stay on the handlebar until I get it right.

I formated the mini dvd-ram (that’s what my camcorder takes, mini dvd’s, a dvd-ram is better though) so that tomorrow when I go back out there won’t be any reason for it to do that to me again.

Free Bike Tripod

On By Michel McDonaldIn Bike2 Comments

It seems that our tool shed attached to the back of the garage seems to be more useful than I ever thought.  Before Stargate SG-1 came on today I went out there hoping to be able to make a homemade tripod for the bicycle handlebars and I wasn’t quite able to make something that was acceptable.  There was a 50/50 chance that it could still fall off and break lol.

So I came in the house and watched SG-1 and while I was watching it I started thinking more about it.  I wondered if maybe there was a screw that would fit in the camera on the bottom.  So I patiently waited for it to end then ran out there lol.

I was right, there was one that was the perfect size and it was long enough, although it could’ve been longer but it ended up being the right fit.

I was going to use the technique that I found here and I tried, I had an old dollar light that the light had broken years ago and I kept the mount for it for this very purpose.  I got the nut out, drilled the hole in it no problem.  But, when I put the screw in and then tried to tighten it the plastic broke so that was no good.

So then I went back into the tool shed and I started thinking what to do next.  I have a new dollar light so I thought well, I guess I’m just going to have to use that and just buy another one.  However, as I was trying to take out the nut I glanced over at the cabinet in the indoor patio which has tools in it and saw the garden hose repair stuff.  A light bulb turned on above my head.  I looked at the light mount and told it that it was its lucky day and that it has gotten a reprieve, for now.

So I grabbed the green garden hose piece that has 2 screws, 1 on each side and it mounts on the outside of the hose then I took it out to the table in the back where my drill was already set up with the right size drill bit and I held the hose piece inside my finger while I drilled into 1 of the screw holes.  Perfect.

I put a little piece of rubber inside the top part of it then put it onto the handlebar and screwed in 1 side with the screw it came with then I put in my long screw that fits perfectly into the camera and I put a nut on and tightened it at the perfect angle.  Then I put another nut on the screw so when I put the camera onto the screw then I just tighten the 2nd nut to keep the camera in place.

Here is a picture:

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So tomorrow when I go out on my bike ride I will have the camera inside the camera bag right inside the Townie Basket and then as soon as I get to the bike trail I will mount the camera and then start filming from there.  It’s much safer to ride with the camera attached while on the bike trail.  I’m just too paranoid that I’m going to have an accident on the streets then have the camcorder fall and break into 10 million pieces.  Besides, I’d rather just focus the video on the bike trail and not the streets.

Nashbar Townie Basket

On By Michel McDonaldIn Bike1 Comment

Last week I bought this product for my bicycle from nashbar.com for carrying my groceries.  I got the rack for my birthday from Chips cousin and her girlfriend so all I needed was the bag.

The bag I got is called a Townie Basket and it’s small enough to carry a bag of groceries so I don’t have to keep wrapping the bags around my handlebars.  The more specific grocery I wanted to use this for was for the 2 gallons of milk I always buy because it’s cheaper to buy 2 gallons than 1 at $3.69.

So I got the bag today and put it on immediately which only took maybe a minute to figure out how it goes on.  I went to Albertson’s right away and got my 2 gallons of milk along with some other things that I needed which I ended up having to carry in my grocery bag on the handlebars… I’m gonna need another one for the other side lol.

The only problem is that with 2 heavy gallons of milk it was sagging outward.  I was petrified that they would fall out as soon as I hit a bump in the road or a pot hole, not paying attention to the road and watching the milk instead might make me accidentally hit a pot hole or a CAR lol.

Well, here are the pictures of the bag.  The first one is of the bag folded up on the rack, the 2nd one is the bag open and the 3rd one is of it with its handy dandy rain coat or as I like to call it, it’s shower cap.

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Ok, now to fix the problem with this bag sagging outward I had to think about how I was going to do this.  I remembered the metal with the holes I used to make it so the rack was secure on the bike so I grabbed the roll of that stuff and held it up then bent the top of it over then I held it on the clamp in the tool shed and cut off a piece, then I cut a 2nd piece.  Then I went back over to the patio table and started drilling holes in the hard plastic in the bag so I could screw these things in place and then I put it on the bike rack.  Viola, it doesn’t sag anymore so I don’t have to worry about anything falling out lol.  Well, for now anyway.

hpnx1201

It’s a really dark picture but you can see that it’s not black, it’s the silver or gray thing on the right.  Not only does it stay on the rack but because I used the pliers to curl it over the rack bar I know nobody will be able to steal it lol.  It’s too much trouble to be able to steal now.  I mean because it’s only on with bungee at the bottom in the 2nd rack hole then with the 2 metal pieces (the black one on the left) so it’s very easy to steal but not anymore.

So if I have any other problems I’m going to have to put a hole on the outside of the bag into the plastic and put a hook there so I can hook a bungee on the outside then hook the other side of the bungee cord to the other side of the rack to make damn sure nothing falls out.

Edit: While I was watching Stargate SG-1 today I was thinking of how I could make this even more secure to the rack, not so that it doesn’t make my milk fall out but secure as in security.  How do I keep people from trying to steal it?  Bracket it to the rack.  See, there are these straps at the bottom that you are supposed to put the rack through, the metal sticks that get screwed to the wheel part of the frame, those are supposed to go through these straps and you would think that those would be velcro so that just in case your rack doesn’t allow you to put them through, then you could just undo them with the velcro.  So I came up with something a little more permanent.

hpnx1203

This picture is taken from the inside of the wheel, as you can see the spokes on the right and left side.  I bracketed the bag to the rack so it would never be easy to separate.  Well, I mean it would if I was trying to but a thief couldn’t easily do it and the guards at the grocery store know me and my bike so they would know if someone was trying to take something off my bike anyway.  But this would definitely slow them down lol.

And to top it all off, I put an eye hook in the outside of the bag, you can see in the first 2 pictures, there is a little silver rectangle, that is the logo of the company I bought it from.  Well, I screwed the eye hook just below that logo so that I could easily attach a bungee cord to it then the other end of the bungee could attach to the other side of the rack.  This way everything will stay inside the bag and not fall out.  The neon yellow shower cap will be able to protect it with the bungee cord in place so that isn’t an issue.