Chicago Bike Blog

Rerun: Could you ride a bike around it in one day?

Because I am in a place where I can enjoy the beauty, the vastness and magnificence of the Great Lakes, I am recycling a post from last year. Someday, I hope to ride a bike around Lake Michigan. If anyone has experience doing that, don't hesitate to leave any tips and advice....

While traveling in Florida, in a chance encounter, my husband was asked about Lake Michigan. The gentleman wanted to know if Lake Michigan was a fresh or salty body of water.
Could you ride a bike around it in one day?
Could you see the other shore?

These questions surprised us, as the magnitude and majesty of Lake Michigan are so obvious to us living here in Chicago.

Here are the facts.
Lake Michigan is the third largest of the Great Lakes (Superior and Huron being larger), and the sixth largest fresh-water lake in the world.
It's shoreline is about 1600 miles long, which means it would take a cyclist traveling at the average clip of 16 miles per hour 100 hours to circumnavigate it. Allowing eight hours of actual cycling per day (hey, we're talking an ambitious cyclist here), and no days off, he or she could complete the trip in 12.5 days.
For the record, the surface area of Lake Michigan is 22,300 square miles, which makes it a little more than a third of the size of the state of Florida.

Driver, be aware!

Are you a driver? I am. Have you taken a look at the new Chicago City Sticker for your vehicle?

Wow! Aside from the overt message on its face, "Share the Road", the new sticker also contains another, implicit message: "Driver, be aware!"

What can you do as a driver to increase the safety of more vulnerable road users, including cyclists?

• Slow down and use caution. Reducing your speed on urban streets almost always leads to increased safety and awareness. You have more time to process and assess the situation on the road, and more time to react, should circumstances change unexpectedly.
  When you pass a cyclist slowly and cautiously, you not only maintain greater control over your own vehicle, but also reduce the chance of starling the cyclist, and causing an unpredictable reaction.
• Relax, breathe and concentrate on the task. We have all experienced being stuck in traffic while late for an appointment. When you are worrying about consequences of being late, or other stressful things in your life, you are not really in the present. If you find yourself in this predicament while behind the wheel, pull over, use your cell phone to alert the person you are meeting that you will be late. Then, take a moment to breathe, look around you, and focus on the act of driving.
• Maintain perspective. Slower road users may seem like they are slowing you down, but more often, the traffic is simply not moving any faster. Think of the size of your vehicle, and the impact it would have on an unprotected cyclist. Remember how little you gain through reckless driving, and how much she could possibly lose.
• Communicate. But, please, avoid using your horn. An urban cyclist is usually aware of your presence as you approach from behind. When at an intersection, establish eye contact with the cyclist, and use hand gestures to signal your intention to let her go ahead.
• Look around you. Before pulling out of your parking space, opening your vehicle door, backing up or turning left or right, survey the scene for slower and more vulnerable road users.
• Yield the right of way. Is the cyclist going around a double-parked truck? A pothole? Is she making a left turn? Is it a narrow street, and you can't safely pass her? Just stop and let her go. It will cost only a few seconds of your time.
• Give them space. When passing a cyclist, give her plenty of space. If you stay aware, you too will notice obstacles or possible road hazards she may be trying to avoid. Let her take her time, and don't force her into a tight situation.
• Ride a bike. The best way to become a more cautious, more aware and ultimately better driver is to ride a bike yourself. Next time you have to pick up some milk, go to the post office, or meet a friend for coffee, grab a helmet and hop on your bike. Riding a bike on the street will give you a sense of what is a safe human speed; will help you relax, catch your breath and concentrate; it will give you a whole new perspective on traffic and the magnitude of a car; will teach you a thing or two about communicating with other road users; will force you to look around and notice things you can't see from a car; and it will make you understand why cyclists need the right of way and a little extra space.
  You'll never drive the same way again.

Patrick Sawyer

Patrick Sawyer, an Indiana resident, was struck by a hit-and-run driver while riding his bike to go swimming at the Michiana YMCA. As he lay in the hospital in critical condition, the driver turned himself in. Patrick died five days later, on July 21.

This news comes to me through a friend in the homeschool community. Patrick was a homeschooling father of four children, was an avid enthusiast of paddle sports, and gave workshops on kayaking at the most recent local homeschool conference.

The Sawyer Family has created a  website with information and tribute to Patrick. Here are some words from his wife, Nancy:

The biggest thing for me right now is the bicycle/road safety issue in our community.  It is simply unacceptable.  As a driver, I know how frustrating and even maddening it can be when I’m in a hurry and suddenly come up on a cyclist which forces me to completely slow down, wait for all oncoming traffic to clear, and give a wide margin.  As a concerned citizen with pertinent issues like fitness, environment, global warming, and high gas prices, I want to limit my driving and bicycle where I can.  I want my children to be able to bicycle to the library, nearby store, friend’s house, etc.  Right now, in our Michiana community, it is not safe.

If you’d like to help me and Patrick right now, please consider how we can make this community more bicycle-friendly and bicycle-safe; a place where both cyclists and drivers can peacefully and safely co-exist.

We are no strangers to loss here, and our hearts go out to you, Nancy, your kids, your entire close-knit family and your friends.

Peace.

How to change a tube & tire on a bike

Before you begin changing a flat on your bike, you will need to remove the wheel from the frame. Click here for instructions on removing a wheel on a typical hybrid bike.

Chances are your tire has gone flat all the way. If not, unscrew the valve cap, and release any remaining air by pressing down on the valve core. If you have Schrader valves, press the valve core with a pointed object, as shown.

If you have Presta valves, loosen the tip of the valve, and press down on it with your finger. Then unscrew and remove the retaining ring from around the valve, as shown in the photos below.

You will now remove the tire from the rim. Begin by sliding one tire lever between the rim and the tire bead, with the curved end of the tire lever pointing down into the rim.

Repeat with a second tire lever, keeping the two levers 3-4 inches apart. Using the thumbs of both hands, flip the levers up and over, so that they are lying flat against the spokes, and the bead of the tire has been pried off the rim.

Secure one of the tire levers in place by hooking it around the nearest spoke, as shown.

Slide the other tire lever against the rim all the way around, until one bead is completely off the rim. If this is initially difficult, place the wheel vertically on the floor, and lean on the tire lever using the force of your entire arm. As more of the bead comes off the rim, it will become easier.

Pull the damaged tube completely out of the tire.

Some people advocate leaving the other bead on the tire on the rim. While this does make reinstalling the tire easier, I believe it does not allow you to thoroughly inspect the tire to identify the cause of the flat. Therefore, I recommend that you yank the tire completely off the rim, which should be fairly easy to do at this point.

Now take your pump or compressor, and begin filling the damaged tube to observe where the air is escaping. Inspect the tube, the inside and outside of the tire, and the inside of the rim to try to identify the cause of the puncture (click here for details).

Once you have identified and removed the cause of the puncture, you are ready to install the new tube. Put a little air inside the tube, just enough to give it shape, and insert it into the tire. A little air helps the tube stay put inside the tire.

Position the rim with the valve hole toward you. Lay the tire with the tube inside it on top of the rim, and insert the valve into the valve hole.

Go all the way around the rim, and insert only the bottom section of the tire bead into the rim. Do not start on the top section of the bead until the bottom part is mounted all the way around.

When you get to the end of the bottom section of the bead, you may find it easier to pry it into the rim using your tire lever. You may also wish to release some air from the tube at this point by pressing down on the valve core. This will reduce the tension on the tire.

Make sure one side of the tire bead is completely seated around the rim before proceeding to the other bead.

Begin pushing the top portion of the tire bead into the rim, starting at the valve.

Work the top bead in all the way around the rim using your thumbs or the heels of your hands. Some tires will go in fairly easily.

If yours does not, use the tire levers to get the last 3-4 inches of the bead seated, as shown.

(NOTE: Some tire and rim combinations make an extremely tight fit, and even a skilled mechanic has to struggle to get the tire properly mounted. If you find that to be the case with your bike, by all means, look into getting  a different set of tires that will allow you to change a flat with less difficulty.)

Before inflating the tire, make sure the tube is securely encased inside the tire, and not being pinched between the tire bead and rim at any point.

Inflate the tire to the recommended pressure (embossed on the tire sidewall), reinstall the wheel, and you are ready to roll!

Your flat repair kit

Getting a flat is pretty darn inconvenient. Don't make it any more so by leaving your flat changing essentials at home. Here is what you need to be able to change a flat anywhere:

• Spare tube. Make sure that it is the right size and valve type for your bicycle. Not all types of holes can be patched, and replacing a punctured tube with a brand new one is simply faster and more practical than patching a tube on the curb. You can patch the old one at home, if it is salvageable.
• Patch kit. Regardless of what I just said, you should carry patches. Occasionally, a brand new tube may leak air, or you may get a second flat because you haven't properly identified the cause of the original puncture.
• Tire levers. These are essential for removing the tire from the rim. Please don't use a screwdriver; it can damage not only the tube, but the tire and rim as well.
• Portable pump suitable for use with the type of valve you have. Usually, the smaller the pump, the longer it will take to fill up the tire, but even a very small pump is better than nothing.
• A wrench, if your bike does not come with quick release wheels. Generally, 14 and 15 mm wrenches are needed loosen nuts on front and rear wheels, but an adjustable wrench will do in a pinch.
• Just in case: cell phone and money. Carry those whenever you are more than walking distance from home.

Most importantly, practice changing a flat before you leave home. If you come to Rapid Transit to have your flat fixed during non-peak hours, we often have time to show you how it's done. But it is usually not enough to be shown: you have to practice it yourself.

Coming up: step-by -step tube changing tutorial.

Schrader and Presta valves

"How the *bleep* do I fill this up?"

If you have to ask, chances are your bike is not equipped with this type of valve:

This is a typical Schrader valve, found not only on the majority of bicycles, but also familiar to anyone who's ever filled up a car tire. If the tire is low, simply apply the head of any pump or gas station compressor firmly to the tip of the valve, and blow.

But don't take it for granted that your bike comes equipped with the common Schrader valve. You may have to spend some more quality time with your valve if it looks anything like this:

Meet the Presta valve. This is the one that causes bike riders to throw their hands up in exasperation on the first encounter.

When you remove the cap from the Presta valve, you will see a pointy tip with a small brass ring snugged down around it. To open the valve in order to add or release air, you must loosen this ring by turning it counterclockwise. Don't worry, the ring will not come off. But now the valve is open, and you can test it by pressing on the tip with your finger to release some air.

You'll have to complete one more step to pump air into the tire. With the valve in the open position, as shown, place a Presta adapter on the valve by screwing it onto the tip:

Now you can treat it just like a Schrader valve, and fill it up with any standard air compressor or car pump. When you are done filling the tire, make sure you remove the Presta adapter, and re-tighten the brass ring around the valve tip to keep air from escaping while you ride.

To make your life a little easier, most bicycle pumps available on the market today come with dual or universal heads that allow you to fill up either Presta or Schrader valve without the use of an adapter. Before venturing out, practice using your pump with the type of valve you have, to make sure you will know how to fill up your tire should it go flat on the road.

And, just in case, I recommend carrying a Presta adapter with you. Many times it is easier and quicker to fill up tires with a gas station compressor than a portable pump.

Too many goodbyes

The end of June was a hard time.

Many of you have read the account of KC's tragic accident and untimely death. Our staff were close to him, and the loss was, and continues to be hard to bear.

As KC's life hung in a balance, and we all tried to reach out and offer solace to his loved ones, I suffered a loss that hit even closer to home. I lost my dad.

This is my dad's bike. It is an old Cannondale frame he picked up at a garage sale. Our mechanics converted it for him to make it suitable for an older guy riding on country lanes is Michigan. He was not really a cyclist, but he enjoyed physical activity. He struck a bit of a funny figure on this bike: helmetless, slightly hunched, with a bulbous torso, and improbably long legs.

When I was a kid growing up in Poland, my dad bought me a bike when I was three. I never learned to ride it. I learned on a neighbor's bike when I was eight. He wanted to teach me how to swim. I learned to swim from a book when I was 22. My dad loved the water, and dedicated his early years to the sport of kayak racing. I was never able to mater the art of balancing the sleek teak boats. I only tried a few tentative strokes on the cheap fiberglass counterparts.

When my parents uprooted their lives and moved to the US, they were in their mid-30's, spoke no English, and had no possessions. I'm not sure how much my dad enjoyed Chicago, but he was absolutely awed by Lake Michigan. From the beginning, he dreamed of someday spending his days by the water: swimming, relaxing, building a cabin, paddling, singing into the night by a bonfire on the beach.

We didn't really take sightseeing vacations. We scorned amusement parks and museums. Our most memorable vacations were to the Boundary Waters, and cross-country trips in our VW microbus that took us to the vast waters of the Pacific. My parents celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary surrounded by friends at a roaring fire on the shores of Lake Michigan in the town of Douglas. Then, about fifteen years ago, they discovered true peace and solitude by the water. On a chance trip, they traveled to a little known island on Lake Huron, and they found their paradise.

Initially, they traveled there with a tent and Coleman stove, as their little lot was completely unimproved. Eventually, they built the smallest imaginable cabin, with a footprint of only 240 sf, and spent several weeks each summer at their minuscule and supremely efficient retreat.

My dad had plans for the island house. He started to build its twin, so that they could have more friends and family visit, and so he and my mom could spend more time there as they entered retirement. It was not to be. My dad passed away on Sunday, June 29th, at the age of 67, having lived his life with zest, passion and drive, and left my mom and me with a pang of memories, and plans yet to be completed.