Day 24 - 26 Degrees

A beautiful day for walking.




We started out at 7:15 and walked south on Denver for a mile to the Denver Avenue Bus Station. It was a nice walk and we made it just before Kristin's bus came.

We didn't like how the snow plows pile all the snow up on our sidewalks. That made it a bit difficult to walk quickly.




Kristin got on this bus and I walked a few more blocks to work.

On our mile walk home we noticed for the first time that the original building of the Borden Dairy had some art deco influences.




We also noticed one of Tulsa's most disturbing signs.




I have always liked the modern architecture represented by the county jail.





We talked to this young man on our walk home. He asked us if he was walking the right direction to make it to Vinita. I hope he finds a warm place to stay the night. He said it is hard to have to walk everywhere and Kristin asked him if he knew how far he was going to have to walk in order to get to Vinita. He said he did.




And when we got home there was a surprise waiting on our front porch.

Day 23

We decided to take the safe route to church. Instead of biking ten miles, we walked across the street to Centenary United Methodist. It was a hymn singing service because it was the fifth Sunday of the month (a tradition they have), and we took part in a potluck afterwards. Everyone was so friendly and kind. I think there were about twenty attending. It is a beautiful church in our neighborhood with an aging congregation but a wonderful pastor who always gives our neighborhood association whatever we need and is super helpful. Our neighborhood meets in one of their rooms every month.

The pastor said that our neighborhood association reminds him of what a church ought to be - a bunch of people meeting together and helping each other out and just taking care of one another. We do live in one of the greatest neighborhoods in America.

We also have one of the best websites in Tulsa.

I took this picture out of our upstairs bedroom window.

Day 22 - Study Day

Saturday was cold. Real cold. And just plain icy. As we've discussed before, bikes and ice just don't mix well. Cars and ice don't mix well either, so we felt justified in just staying home all day. It was a great chance to get caught up on cleaning, organizing, taxes, laundry, as well as sharpening my skills for the road.

Since the content is quite relevant now, I basically have devoured this book, Urban Bikers Tricks and Tip by Dave Glowacz. Nathan is the more seasoned biker around here so I've had some catching up to do.

I've learned some great tips about handling trouble I could encounter on the road.

Some are very practical:

- How to fix a flat tire. I learned that I can just patch a tire tube and not have to replace the whole tube if the hole is less than the size of a pinhole. Does that ever happen?

- The best way to lock my bike up so it doesn't get stolen. (one of my great fears in life)

- How to not get hit while riding next to cars. (Also one of my great fears in life)

- How to cross railroad tracks safely by going across them at a right angle.

- How to be visible while riding at night.

- How to rub a cut potato on your glasses to keep them from fogging up. (We tried this; it didn't seem to help)

- How to prevent helmet hair by #1) weaing a bandanna or scarf under your helmet or #2) getting a perm. No way on God's green earth am I going to get a perm.

Some information I will hopefully never have to use:

- How to ride up and down stairs. That sounds like a stupid idea.

- How to treat a bad scrape- by picking out any glass and debris then scrubbing it well. Yuck...

- How to dress for rain, cold and snow. Oh wait, I unfortunately already know how to do that.

- Managing to wear long dresses or skirts on your bike commute by tucking the bottom into a belt. Obviously, this book is written by a man. That's all I have to say.

He also has tips for the advanced or "sly" riders. I can't condone any of these.

- How to go through yellow lights

- How to "skitch" a ride from a vehicle by grabbing onto part of the car and letting it pull you up a hill or through wind. (Mom, I promise I won't ever do this)

- Handling conflict with motorists by throwing water in their face and hitting their windshield in a particular spot that would possibly shatter it. Also he describes how to run away from a car that is chasing you after you do those things.

So much information, so little time. I'm learning so much these days. Of course, the most ingrained lessons are those I'm learning from the School of Hard Knocks.

- Watch out for the asphalt chunks next to the potholes. Those will get'cha too.

- Always bike with someone who can change a flat. It's a long way home walking.

- There is an amazing difference between 20 degrees and 35 degrees. Either your fingers can fall off or not.

Kristin

Day 16

Holy cow- North wind. I hate you.

And I love you too because you pushed me all the way to church this morning. But you made my ride home absolutely miserable.

I actually had to pedal down some hills because the wind gusts were so strong. Ridiculous.

I'll be honest- not to discourage anyone from riding or attempting to commute on a bike- but riding into the wind felt like I was torturing myself. Plus the fact that my legs were still pretty darn tired even after a decent rest yesterday. I secretly had thoughts that I might never get on a bike after this month was over, but those were fleeting. It was a sunny day and that helped the pain a little bit.

Nathan was so encouraging and tried so hard to get my mind off how hard it was to come home. You should be jealous because I have the best husband in the whole world. The other day he said that one of his favorite things about this 30 day challenge is being able to spend some quality time with his wife. Isn't that the sweetest thing you've ever heard?

Kristin

Day 14- 16 days to go

We are getting tired.

I'll just be honest about that.

But we are still enjoying being out in the city and seeing things that we would never see if we stayed in a car.

Like this tree outside of a restaurant that is completely covered in teenager's signature. Poor tree.

The beautiful display of flowers outside a flower shop on a nice day

The crazy details of the Utica Square clock. kinda creepy, huh?

All completely worth it, don't you think?

Kristin

Day 13

Not much exciting going on here today. And, when you are biking everywhere, that can definitely be a good thing.

That means no flat tires, no close calls, no need to go buy new bike supplies, no dogs...well, no dog attacks.

We did see the dogs again that chased after us the other day. We headed back to the Pearl Gallery since they are open till 7 on Thursday. We sat and observed the dogs for a while before heading down the street. I think they kind of saw us but, since we weren't moving, they got bored and walked away. We were able to ride by easily but now we clearly understand that 3rd street, just west of Peoria, belongs to those dogs. You've been warned.

We had a great time at the Pearl Gallery. We felt very welcome there and we got to look all around. We got to see some of Celeste Vaught's paintings from her Tulsa Brick by Brick series. They were gorgeous. I loved the painting of the Warehouse Market and Nathan liked the one of Claude's hamburgers.

We are still pretty fortunate to be enjoying good weather in January. Somehow I feel like I'm cheating since it really hasn't been that cold over the past week. I just checked the forecast though and I might just be kicking myself for saying that next week.

Day 12- Deflated

I have a gift.

I can find invisible sharp objects on the road, ride directly over them and flatten a bike tire in seconds.

Flat tire #2 for me in 12 days.


This time we inserted "Mr. Tuffy."


It's a tough strip that goes into the tire that hopefully prevents sharp objects from penetrating the tube. At least that is what the package claims.


Fortunately, I married a man with a gift that compliments mine. I flatten tires. He changes them.

We're a great team like that. I realized my tire was flat as I was strapping my helmet on to come home tonight. Fortunately, Nathan was on his way toward me already. He had a tube for my bike in his bag as well as the pump. I went with my flat-tire bike on a short walk to Tom's, a local bike store. We were going to stop there anyway on the way home but now we definitely needed another spare tube for the next time I blow out my tire (unless Mr. Tuffy comes through for us).

We changed the tube without any problems and we're home by dusk. Starving, but nonetheless safe and sound.

In case you are wondering- I haven't written about my first flat tire which was on Day 7. We were riding through downtown on the way to the grocery store after work. I wedged a small, extremely sharp piece of glass into my tire and it was flat instantly. At first I thought that we were just riding over some pretty big ruts in the sidewalk. But then I realized that I had my first ever flat tire.

Nathan, again, saved the day. Though I think, by now, I could change a tire by myself if I had too.

Kristin

Day 11- mild rain.

We ran into just a little bit of rain on the way home today. I was riding pretty fast to try to meet Nathan and it started sprinkling about half way home. I met up with him at Centennial Park on 6th street- which, if you haven't visited that new park, is just a beautiful place and one of my favorite places to ride through. The pond is very pretty and the landscaping is wonderful in every season.

Just as we were getting into downtown, it started raining a little bit. Fortunately, it wasn't one of those horrible downpours that can happen in Oklahoma. Just some steady rain to keep us on our toes. My helmet kept most of it our of my eyes and my rain pants and jacket did a darn good job of keeping me pretty dry.

We made it through the rain fairly quickly and as we were coming into our neighborhood it stopped. I was surprised how painless it was.

Rain has been a fear of mine during this 30 day challenge. Nothing I hate more than being wet and cold. But it was a very mild day and the rain wasn't horrible, so feel like I've gotten my feet wet a bit and will be able to handle the next one. Which may certainly be tomorrow. shoot...

And now just for kicks, here is yesterday morning's gorgeous sunrise. This is one of those things I'm enjoying now since I'm actually out of the house early enough to see them.

Kristin

Day 10 - Dogs

Our dog story starts off with me on my way to meet Kristin after work. I was riding down third street to the entrance of the Midland Valley Trail. As I was riding, this gentlemen yelled at me from the other side of the road to watch out for the dogs. He thought I was continuing on down third street. I could see the dogs in the distance and they looked none to friendly, but luckily I was turning onto the trail and didn't have to worry about them.

Unfortunately, I did not remember the stern dog warning as we were headed back home. We decided we wanted to stop by the Pearl Arts Gallery and see Celeste Vaught's work in person. We love what she is doing with her Tulsa Brick x Brick series. So instead of turning west at third we turned east.

Soon did we encounter two ravenous dogs that were hungry for legs spinning on the rotisserie. I yelled at them as loud and as mean as I could and they seemed to drop back, but then I looked again, and they were back on Kristin's tail. So I yelled again louder and they dropped back. We escaped unscathed.

Unfortunately, the gallery was closed on Mondays so we had to quickly return from whence we came. At this point of the story is something I am ashamed to tell you. We were talking about a game plan to make it back past these dogs. As we were talking a biker passed us. For some weird reason we watched him go by without warning him of the peril ahead of him.

Even as I write this the guilt is welling up. This poor biker proceeded on by us as if the world were his for the taking. He was plenty shocked by the ravenous dogs as he swerved to and fro and yelled and a car behind him honked as it nearly hit one of the dogs or the biker or both. The dogs did not hurt him, but we are so ashamed that we didn't warn a fellow biker on the road.

We made our escape down a road just east of Youth Services of Tulsa as the dogs were coming back from their last attack. They saw us but were too late to make the kill.

So biker man who we didn't warn, if you are out there, please forgive us for what we have done. We will do better next time.

Lesson learned: Always tell your fellow bikers of dangers that are up ahead.

Lesson learned:
How to deal with dogs:
I have been dealing with stray packs of dogs in my neighborhood for a few years of commuting by bicycle. Here are a few tips I have learned along the way.

1. Don't try to kick them if they are on your heels. They will grab your foot and it is going to be an ugly bike wreck.

2. You can't outride even the smallest of dogs.

3. As soon as you ride past them you are prey running in fear and the chase is on.

4. If they get that look in their eyes like they are seeing a giant hamburger, get off the bike immediately, turn the bike sideways in front of you, and start yelling at them as aggressively as you can. You look pretty huge to a dog when your bike is turned sideways.

5. Carry a can of mace on your bike and you will be bullet proof. I have never had to resort to spraying my mace because they always freak out from the sideways bike and the aggressive confrontation, but it is comforting to know it's there if I need it.

Day 9- I'm exhausted.

Talk about a long day of biking.
We left the house about 8 AM to be at church on time. (And to attempt to look presentable by the time it started at 9:15.) If the estimate is correct, Google Maps says that we rode 9.5 miles. We pulled into the parking lot and had locked up our bikes by 8:53. It was a bit chillier than I had expected and the sun was no where to be found this morning. But it was a very peaceful ride down Riverside. I've never seen the river so smooth. The geese were out and making some noise. There are some beautiful places in Tulsa and we've enjoyed seeing them at a slower pace this week.


We met my parents for lunch at Whole Foods. I was so proud of my mom for not worrying about us too much. I know this hasn't been easy on her. We enjoyed a nice lunch and it was a nice break in the ride home.

Nathan's bike resting at Whole Foods where the sun decided to come out finally.

His shoes are stuffed into that left side pocket

We stopped at Braums on the way home for a few groceries (again.)

We've noticed that our grocery spending has gone up a bit this past week.

We've been so hungry the past few days. I guess you have to buy "fuel" whichever way you get around town.

Nathan was kind and carried the milk home. I've noticed that some of my grocery decisions are starting to be made on how heavy the item is. I just couldn't bring myself to buy potatoes.

We are working on a better solution for transporting groceries. Small trips quite often make for very tired bikers. I need a little basket on my bike or something. Nathan is brainstorming as we speak.

Thanks, Braum's, for letting me double bag my groceries to make sure they all got home safely. And to the four people behind me in line, thanks for waiting while the checkout lady awkwardly tried to double bag my stuff.
- KRISTIN

Day 7: Groceries

We needed some groceries on our way home from work, but the panniers on my bike were full and Kristin's backpack was full. We didn't want to go home and unload because our legs were too tired so we ended up at the Blue Jackalope and bought four bags of groceries. We put one bag on each handlebar and road slowly and carefully home through Crosby Heights and Owen Park neighborhoods.






We made it without breaking any eggs - amazingly.




This was really probably just two normal bags of groceries but we were trying to distribute the weight evenly.

Day 6 - Small grocery trip

The cabinets are getting bare. Kristin went to Petty's yesterday during lunch break at work.




She bought one bag of groceries.




And stuffed it in her little backpack.





So here is what you can stuff in a backpack.

Lesson learned: Arrange groceries in backpack so that artichoke cans aren't stabbing the spine.

Day 6: Bad Tire

It was a great morning for biking. The weather was mild, very little wind and the sunrise was beautiful. We only got to enjoy part of it before Nathan popped out his back tire crossing 11th street.

But luckily I married a man with some serious bike tire changing skills. Watch this...

He changed the tire in less than 15 minutes and we were back on the road before I knew it. It was his back tire, no less, and that is a little trickier to take off than the front one.

I was a little late pulling into work but still had time do get everything done by the time I started seeing patients.

Lesson learned: Always carry an extra tube and pump.

Kristin

Day 5 Celebration

We made it five days so we stopped by the biker bar for a little celebration.




SoundPony - Tulsa's only bar specifically for cyclists.




Check out all the bicycles hanging up on the ceiling. Some are for sale if you are interested.



A little picture of our own ponies.





And here is the world's best wife. I never thought she would agree to this five year anniversary challenge.

Location:SoundPony

Day 5: 32 degrees

Well, this morning was a better ride to work. It was nice and dry. It seemed like there was more wind so even though it was 32 instead of 18, I still had cold feet. Thankfully, I just talked to a coworker who told me a good method to solve that problem. I will give it a try and let you know if it works.

I just finished the book "The Cyclist's Manifesto: The Case for Riding on Two Wheels Instead of Four." Robert Hurst says,

"Those wondering what society is all about could get some idea just by listening to it. It sounds like explosions encased in steel."

It really surprises you when you start riding and you learn that transportation can be so quiet and peaceful on a bicycle. And it really contrasts, all the more, how loud the automobile is.

The Midland Valley Trail uses highway right-of-way from 3rd street downtown to 15th and Peoria. It is amazing how loud the traffic is and what it does to you when you are outside and close to it.


I am riding by all these beautiful houses that used to have peaceful backyards until someone decided to blast out a highway 100 feet away. Now people come outside every day to the sound of trucks and cars. I bet the owners of these homes love the biggest blizzards and storms so they can go outside their home for a few days out of the year without the sound of explosions.

Sleet...ugh

Weatherbug didn't tell me anything about sleet and drizzle this morning. It just said that it was darn cold, practically as cold as when we rode on Saturday. With a wind chill of about 11 degrees. But somehow it forgot to mention that there was a chance of precipitation. Overall, the sleet that I rode through this morning wasn't horribly uncomfortable (not nearly as bad as Nathan's small blizzard- see below) but quite inconvenient nonetheless.

I've learned that, for the greatest chance of being presentable at work, you should apply your mascara at work AFTER your morning bike ride through the sleet. There was a big smudge on my cheek as I arrived, and the rest of my makeup was just about to slide down my face.

Fortunately I brought some makeup with me and salvaged what I could. Lesson learned.

The ride back tonight was pretty enjoyable. It was around 39 degrees and felt great after the first few blocks. I met Nathan about half way home because we needed to be home a little earlier tonight. The ice is almost melted and I only had to brace myself once to go over a little patch. The rest of the week should be warmer so I think we are through the toughest part.

Kristin

Day 4 - 19 degrees - Sleet and downtown snow storm

This morning was a bit rough. We started out heading east down the hill from our neighborhood and we realized we were in for a cold ride. Then the sleet started coming down and it wasn't long before our glasses froze over in such a way that we had to pull them down as far as we could and then tilt our heads so we could look over them as we rode. That meant some degree of sleet was hitting our eyeballs. What I would have given for some ski goggles and mini windshield wipers. Maybe a mini defrost system as well.

Oh well, at least you get a respect for weather and the outdoors and a feeling of how truly small you are in the grand scheme of things. Maybe you don't want a feeling like that and that is why you buy a hummer-to feel all big and unstoppable. Although even that didn't work out so well for the kid driving a hummer in the last snow storm who ended up overturned and killing people in a sedan in the oncoming lane.

After making it to Kristin's work, I decided to harness the pony and rest my feet for a few minutes in front of her portable heater. I wore two pairs of socks today and I did better than yesterday, but I don't think I could have made it another three miles to my office without a little frostbite.

The main problem today was that the snowy sleet covered the streets and path with a small layer of white. This was very effective at hiding the remaining ice on the roads. My rear back tire was better at finding the ice than my eyes were. We made it though without any falls-just some close calls.

When I got back into downtown, I found myself in my own little snowstorm. I don't know where it came from or where it went, but by the time I made it indoors, my dress shirt was so soaked I had to throw it over a chair to let it dry out. A guy waiting at the elevator asked me if I was the one he saw hoofing it through the snowstorm. He also wondered where that snowstorm came from.

Lesson learned: Always bring my rain jacket Kristin bought me for our anniversary, even if I don't think there is going to be a mini snowstorm following me on my bicycle.

Looking forward to a warmer ride to meet Kristin at work this afternoon.

...And no more personal snowstorms.

Day 3 - 28 degrees - Ride One of Two

So we made it to work. We had to wake up at 5:45 and were out the door by 6:55. We arrived at Kristin's work (4 miles away) at 7:28. That is not bad considering it is generally up hill to get there and considering we had to walk our bikes over ice in several locations.

We took the Midland Valley trail a good portion of the way. Not having to worry about cars is nice, although the majority of our ice walking was on this trail. Hopefully the ice will thaw out in the next couple days.

We packed my garment bag (which is made for a bicycle rack) with three pairs of dress pants for her and a coat for her to keep at work. I also stuffed my lunch in it, bike lock, pump, extra tubes, socks, etc. She had her sweater and another shirt in her backpack I believe. I already have my suit jackets and pants and ties at work so I just wore my dress shirt over my underarmour long sleeve shirt and t-shirt, and then under my jacket. I was worried it would be wrinkled but it wasn't. I think that is because I didn't wear a backpack (just used my garment bag pannier for everything).

I was wearing biking shoes with wool socks underneath and my feet were freezing. This is very interesting considering I wore the exact same thing on our trial run and my feet were perfectly warm the whole time. And it was 10 degrees colder on the trial run. I sat in her office for a few minutes this morning with my feet in front of her little portable electric heater. That warmed them up and they were just fine on the way back to my office.

My office is about 3 miles from Kristin's office. I am looking at 14 miles a day to ride with her both ways. I can't wait for the ice to go away so I can get on my road bike. My mountain bike weighs a ton.

Day 3. (27 days to go)

I'm not a morning person.
If I had my way, I would never see the sun rise, but only get out of bed when it is light outside. Nathan, however, beats the sun out of bed practically ever morning. And he would also prefer to be asleep as the sun sets. (Despite these difference, we make our marriage work somehow).

That said, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed riding my bike as the sun was coming up. Riding through downtown at dawn was beautiful. I'll post a picture soon.

I was also pretty excited when I rolled over in bed this morning to see how "warm" it was out there. I've never said this before, but 29 degrees sounded great! Much better the 12 degree wind chill we experienced on Saturday - all relative, I guess.

My bike is in my office, mostly hiding behind my door. My hair didn't look too bad but it was a little sweaty under my helmet. My hands weren't frozen. I changed clothes and was ready for the day by 8 am. And it felt nice to have a little workout under my belt before the day started.

And we didn't get hit by any cars. Perfect.

Kristin

Day 2 - Super cold and uneventful

We hitched a ride to church in the morning from our neighbors. It was 6 degrees and we didn't know if we could make it seven miles in that kind of cold. Other than that we stayed in for the rest of the day and read. It was a peaceful day and hopefully we are ready for a week of riding.

So did we fail our mission for thirty days without the car? Well, we have talked with two guys now who have ditched their cars in Tulsa and are traveling on pedal power. Both of them said that there are a few days in the winter where they will hitch a ride (either bus or friend). We would have preferred a bus (to stay more carless than riding with friends), but there was no bus heading to our church on Sunday. We are prepared to take the bus if there are any more blizzards during the workweek.