First Snow.

I passed a neighbor walking his dog on my way in this morning, and he yelled after me, "Time for the studded snow tires!".

I'm not ready for this yet!

From shorts to hat & gloves in less than a month.

Man... it happens fast. All through September I was riding in shorts. Now, I'm wearing long underwear, windproof/waterproof pants and jacket, hat & gloves. It was about 30 degrees this morning, with a heavy frost covering the grass and fields. It is hard to make out in my crappy cell phone pic, but this field was full of Canadian geese on their way south.

This week was my first week using lights again in the evening. I have two LED headlights mounted on my handlebars (one flashing, one solid) and two flashing LED tail lights (one on my helmet, one on my seatpost). I feel pretty good about my visibility to cars. I'm scouting out a new winter bike, and my plan is to wrap the frame in reflective tape so I'm more visible to cars from the side (when I'm crossing roads).

I was bummed a couple of weeks ago about the approach of colder weather and darker rides... but now I'm excited to change it up a little and try new gear.

Rugged Cycles.

I just got back from a business trip to the ISA Expo in Houston. The ISA Expo is a trade show and conference for users/buyers/sellers of industrial instruments and automation products. It was pretty much the last place I would expect to find a company selling bicycles.

Rugged Cycles (http://www.ruggedcycles.com/) builds and sells bicycles for use around large industrial facilities, but also markets them for rental fleets or personal use. They have created a bike that is virtually maintenance-free in most applications. All of the parts of the bike are stainless, polycarbonate, or otherwise corrosion-resistant. Instead of exposed chain drive with deraileurs, it uses an enclosed shaft drive with internal hub shifting. The tires are made of solid polyurethane, so flats are thing of the past. This thing is bulletproof!

If I had a shorter, less hilly commute - I would definitely consider this as a commuter bike. They offer a single speed or 3-speed option, so it is ideal for level to slightly hilly conditions. They have a comfort bike configuration, so the rider sits up straight for excellent visibility. It is not the lightest thing on the road, but I didn't think it was excessively heavy considering the airless tires and heavy-duty shaft drive.

The list price for the single-speed model is $745... but they were offering a 10% discount during the Expo. I think it was less than $100 to upgrade to the 3-speed (internal hub) model.

Check them out. It's great to see expanding applications for bicycles... even if it is not the bike for me.

Fall is perfect for bike commuting.

I find it funny that I see so many bike commuters in the summer - and then they disappear as soon as a bit of chill hits the air. This is the best time of year to commute by bike! In the summer, it takes me an hour to cool down when I get to work. In the fall, I can sometimes wear my casual work clothes and barely break a sweat.

The tricky part is the increasingly early sunset. In the next week or so, I'll have to set up my headlights and tail lights so I'm as visible as possible on my ride home. In another month or so, it will be DARK on my ride home. I'm guessing that is one of the biggest fears of new bike commuters... riding in the dark. It definitely takes some getting used to - especially on busy roads - but I sometimes think that I am more visible to cars in the dark when I'm lit up like a Christmas tree!