Biking: Lobster Gloves

As I mentioned before, my winter glove situation wasn't perfect. My hands would get cold in extreme cold weather and I'd lose the feeling in my fingers for a brief period of time.

Last winter when I did try to find some Lobster Gloves, they were all sold out from the places I checked (REI, Penn Cycle, Erik's). The other night my wife and I made a voyage out to Ikea, and on our way just happened to pass by an Erik's. I darted in and found a pair, made the $65 purchase (though it pained me to spend that sort of money), and went on our way.

The sales guy and I chatted for a few minutes about winter commuting. His opinion was that most days you don't need to use the Lobster glove, but when it's friggin' cold, you can count on it to keep your hands cold. He said his hands sometimes sweat in them but he's never gotten cold while using them.

I am excited to have them, as my hands getting cold was the most uncomfortable part of biking in the winter.

[These Lobster gloves are ready for winter riding.]

Biking: How to improve the bike/car relationship

When it comes out in conversation that I am a bike commuter, there are two common responses. One is "even in the Winter?" The other is "I saw a biker this morning run a red light [or insert other moving violation]." They usually go on to complain about "crazy" bikers in Uptown. Yea? So? (A) When you say something about your commute in (via car), I don't start complaining about the cars that cut me off, that see me coming and gun it through the intersection, that decide it's better to stop IN the intersection than at the stop sign.

The general disregard for traffic laws is the result of a traffic system that greatly favors the car over the bike and offers little towards bikers when not on a trail or decent bike lane.

Bikers in Minneapolis are put into a crappy situation when not on those trails or bike lanes. If we bike on major streets like Lake Street, Hennepin Avenue, Lyndale Avenue, Penn Avenue, etc., then we piss off drivers because they can't easily get around us...or at least they perceive it that way. If we bike on the neighborhood streets, then we're stuck hitting stop signs every other block. That's the result of the "Basket Weave" approach to traffic engineering. The Basket Weave makes side streets unattractive for drivers looking to cut through a neighborhood in a timely fashion. This pushes them to the arterials instead. But the arterials have parking, buses, high volumes of cars who dislike bikers, and higher speeds. The lanes may or may not be narrower since they are cramming as many users into a fixed space.

The result is that you have bikers who bike everyone and anywhere. You have bikers on the main drags biking a safe distance away from the parked cars, which means they may be pissing off drivers. Some will stop at the red lights, some won't. Those in the neighborhoods are generally yielding at stop signs, but some surely are cutting off drivers. It's not a pretty situation.

What could be done to improve the situation?

• Create bike-focused streets that use clearly marked bike lanes. These streets should have infrequent stop signs and traffic lights. To reduce the chances that cars will use the street as a quick way to get from A to B (which isn't good for bikers or residents), these streets should have a speed limit of no greater than 25 mph. At the corners, curb extensions (bump outs) should go out as far as the bike lane. There should be lots of paint on the street to mark the bike lanes and to mark crosswalks. Speed humps (larger than bumps) should be put just before the crosswalks.
  
• Consideration should be given, where there's enough room and roads are being rebuilt, that a bike lane be placed between the sidewalk and the parking lane on major streets. This would require a curb between the bike lane and the parking lane, as to prevent drivers from parking their cars in the bike lane. There are a number of benefits of this, such as decreasing the risk to the biker to traffic and cars pulling out. The problems are that car doors could be an issue and that parking would need to be removed near intersections to prevent drivers who are turning from not seeing a biker who's covered up by a parked car.
  
• Retime lights along some streets to better reflect biking times than driving times. It's possible in some instances to have it timed both for bikers and cars. I recall several years ago that if you went 32 mph on Lyndale Avenue S from the Minnehaha Creek until at least 33rd Street, that you would hit all the lights perfectly. Someone else told me you could also do that at 39 mph. I somehow doubt it.
  
• Change the laws. I'd support making stop signs yields for bikers, with the right of way going to the driver if already at the stop sign. I'm not fully sure about the proposal that's being floated around that stop lights become yields to bikers IF there's no one approaching and that the biker makes a full stop at the light. It seems like it could be a disaster waiting to happen...but I need to do more research first.

There are a lot more things that could be done, but I think the first bullet is my main priority on bike policy improvements in the City of Minneapolis. Give us a better bike option and we'll use it. I don't know a single biker who wouldn't embrace the idea of having a street that's designed so that biking is convenient, fast, and less stressful.

Ideas?

Biking: Blinded by the Light

It's dusk and the path between Lake Calhoun and Lake Harriet is dimly lit. My bike light illuminates the path as I make my way up the hill. A biker is approaching me, but before he comes flying by, he disappears. Where did he go? A pair of bright car lights hits me straight on, making the biker invisible to me. The good news is that I was fully illuminated by the car and the trouble was avoided.

This is a big problem with the parkways and bike paths in the City of Minneapolis. They're too dark! The lack of light for pedestrians and bikers creates a safety issue when bright single-source light is aimed directly at your eyes.

The dangers are real.

• Blinded biker can't see path or road and either goes off the edge, hits a stick, or falls into a pothole.
• Blinded biker is illuminated and jogger assumes that means that the biker won't hit him.
• Blinded biker can't see the dog leash or dog of walker on bike path.

How can this be corrected?

• Cheapest: Two-way trails at night. This allows bikers to go with traffic (if alongside one way road).
• Install new lighting around parkways, especially those with more bikers or where the trails and roads are the shortest way to get from A to B. This lighting can be shielded so that it doesn't spill into the park lands or lakes. The lights should not blind users, like the current lights do. The current light is a clear box with a white light in the center. The box shouldn't be clear. More frequent lighting would also reduce shadows and the ability of car lights from blinding people who are in between light poles.

Biking: Seeing and being seen

I rarely rode when it was dark until last year. When I did ride, I threw on my cheap headlight and tail light and figured that would keep me safe.

Soon it was winter and the sun was coming down early. I would bike home and it was mostly dark. The path I rode around Lake Harriet was not well lit, and as a result, the on-coming traffic would blind me with their headlights. Throw in a few stupid dog walkers who weren't paying attention to my flashing front light and a couple of joggers who like to play chicken, and I realized that I was going to have to figure out a better lighting situation.

I began biking in the street the other way around the lake so that I was with traffic (one-way). That way I got the benefit of their headlights. Eventually in winter, the trail became two-way and I went the way with the car traffic.

To fend off joggers and dog walkers, I kept my flashing front light aimed at their line of sight. I have an older (several years old) Cateye OptiCube, which I use for the flashing front light. It has three white LEDs in the front. To help me see the ground, I picked up the five white LED Beamer 5 from Planet Bike. (More on these lights in a moment.)

My rear light is perhaps the best light I own. It's a three LED light, the TL-1000, from Serfas. It is a very focused light, but has a housing that's transparent so that it can be seen 180 degrees. Every year a large group (200) bikers do a midnight to dawn bike ride in the Twin Cities. Obviously, being seen is important when biking in the middle of the night. One of the bikers who was half a block back from me sprinted up to me to ask what light I had. He said he and his friends have been blinded by it for quite a while as they approached from behind. I've had other bikers make similar comments. [Photo at right.]

The Beamer 5 from Planet Bike is a very bright front light as far as low price bike lights go ($25 at REI). With five LEDs, it makes a decent riding conditions at night. I typically have mine aimed down towards the ground. It eats batteries when it's really cold out. I think I replaced batteries after every 40 miles or so when it was below 20 degrees (f). I got about 5 hours out of it during a recent overnight ride...but I replaced them before it was totally out. If you do a lot of night riding and want a bright light, this is probably not the best option out there because of its battery life. But for the occasional night time ride, it's a great inexpensive option. [Photo at right]

As a side note, Planet Bike donates a portion of its profits to bike advocacy groups. That's pretty cool.

Other things:

• I use a reflective leg band from Jogalite ($6 at REI) on my left leg to help being seen by cars approaching from behind. I use a different reflective band on my right leg to keep my pants from rubbing against the chain.


• I have a Cateye SL-LD100 (also called Compact Safety Light) in red ($15 at REI) that can attach to bags, clothes, etc. I haven't found it the easiest thing to strap down and not move. The light only flashes from one side, so positioning is key. I've most recently used it on the back of my helmet. I'll probably stick with that for now. [Photo at right]
  
• I've used the Nathan 3M Reflective Tape on the handle bars and around the post of my bike to help be seen. It is pretty reflective when light hits it. The tape hasn't come off yet and I've used it for one season in snow, slush, and rain. The only downside I've come across so far is that it can be difficult to put on if you're curving it. It's not that cheap either ($6 at REI) for 27 inches of it, but for making my winter bike more noticeable, I'll gladly pay it.

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The two headlights in action.

Biking & Walking: Scarf review - NeoFleece Combo Scarf

The NeoFleece Combo Scarf from Seirus is probably one of the better cold-weather clothing investments I've made. I bought it initially for my 2-mile walking commute around Lake Calhoun. The wind was terrible and I couldn't find anything that vented correctly.

I purchased this scarf from REI. It connects behind the head through Velcro. Against your skin it's fleece. On the outside it is fleece along the neckline and behind your head. On the face, it's some sort of synthetic that they call Polartec.

I typically wear this below 15 or 20 degrees (f) when biking or below 10 or 15 degrees (f) when walking. I've used it to wind chills of -25 degrees (f) and it's kept my face warm.

The Polartec has faired well against snow, keeping my face fairly dry and the little holes where the mouth hides behind can act as a screen to prevent breathing in of snow, etc.

It can get a bit clammy when wearing this scarf. But compared to the neck warmers and other scarves I've used, this by far has done what I've asked of it. I typically don't have significant ice/frost build up, though some occurs.

Seirus and other brands make a full head piece version (NeoFleece Combo Headliner). As someone with glasses, it didn't work for me. It is difficult to get the head piece to correctly position the nose and mouth areas. As a result, warm air would flow upward into my glasses and fog up. I assume that if it fits right, that it'd add a layer of warmth to the head. I also had issues with the glases not fitting properly through the hole for the eyes.

[Photo from Feb. 2007 while I walked across Lake Calhoun to work. The NeoFleece Combo Scarf is visible.]

Biking: Keeping your hands warm in Winter

Imagine this: you're inside your warm house looking at the weather outside. It's dark, it's sunny, and you just know it's bone chilling out there. Sure enough, it's -5(f) but the wind chill brings it down to -12(f).

Been there, done that. It's cold. But after a quick stretch inside, I head right out and hop on that bike and go. But if you didn't dress well enough, your hands may punish you as quickly as three blocks later.

What you wear on your hands can make or break your ride.

Things to consider:

1. Warm up before heading out.

Before going out in really cold weather, a good stretch is in order. This seemed to help get the legs moving right and reduced my risk of injury. It also elevated my heart rate, which helped keep me warm from the get-go. I highly recommend doing some jumping jacks before leaving, as it helped get the blood flowing in my arms.

2. The right gloves.

I had okay gloves. I utilized the Specialized Sub Zero glove, which consists of an inner liner and an outer shell. From my experiences, the outer layer was indeed water proof. The inner liner was a normal glove, which was great for days between 30 (f) and 45 (f). With the outer shell, the glove worked fine to about a wind chill factor of 5 (f). I tried switching out the inner liner with something thicker but it didn't make much of a difference. In snowy conditions, the glove had enough grip on the handle bars. Will I use this glove again? Yes. Will I look for something else for very cold weather? Yes. I've heard lots of great things about the Pearl Izumi AmFIB Lobster Glove and will purchase a pair this winter.

3. Supplemental heat.

I've used hand warmers from Grabber to add supplemental warmth in the coldest of days. They help keep you warm, however they aren't as useful as you'd expect. The problem is that with normal gloves on, the heat doesn't have the airspace to travel to your finger tips. I also found that they take a while to warm up. If you do use them, I recommend opening them up and placing them on the outside of your gloves a good 30 minutes before you head out. When you reach your destination, leave them inside of the glove. I've come back to warm gloves when I leave work 9 hours later. I imagine that they'd work better with a Lobster glove.

4. Things to do when all else has failed.

When your fingers are so numb that you think that you're going to either have to turn back or stop to warm up inside every six blocks, you know it's cold. But that said, I've found two things very helpful in those situations. (1) Stop and shake out your arms. Go all the way up and down with them. This seems to help get your hands warm within three or four minutes after resuming your bike ride. (2) Bike up a hill immediately and don't stop after climbing. This gets your heart rate up and warms your body quickly. I have a small hill that I do this on and it's all I need to get warm on those days. It's worked every time thus far. Another option would be to hop the bus or turn back.

Biking: A Taste of Country

It was a nice, sun-filled day in August that spurred my idea to take a 45+ mile ride from South Minneapolis out to Excelsior and Chanhassen and then back.

My ride took advantage of a number of trails and required riding on some somewhat busy roads. Overall, it was a very enjoyable ride with few issues. But of course, I learned a few lessons.

The Route

I took the HCRRA light rail trails from the Midtown Greenway in Minneapolis. These trails run on old rail beds and are mostly free of road crossings. You can go from the heart of Minneapolis out to Excelsior in a nice, rural-like setting.

I took a break along the water in Downtown Excelsior before proceeding south on Water Street to MN Highway 7. After getting lost trying to find Galpin Lake Road, I finally found it and made my way south. The road had a path but the road was quiet enough and smooth enough to make for a better ride.

I eventually followed some trails along MN Highway 5 in Chanhassen. The trails were super confusing, as they crossed under the highway in tunnels but it wasn't clear where they went. I wanted to go east from Galpin Blvd to the southern HCRRA light rail trail that runs just east of Eden Prairie Road. The trails switched sides of Highway 5 and ultimately I figured it out. The trails are older and have many bumps. I get spoiled with most of the MPRB trails.

I left the trail and followed various roads through the Opus office park and then made my way across Edina just north of MN Highway 62.

Normally I don't associate enjoyable bike rides with going out to suburban neighborhoods, but this was a beautiful day and exploring made for a fun outing.




[A corn field along Coulter Drive in Chanhassen.]