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Life Happens

Admittedly, my bike commuting and mileage has taken a hit the last couple weeks. I had a week of vacation, then got a couple commutes in before the stomach flu took me down for a few days. This week, I got 3.5 good days in. Life happens.

On my ride home yesterday, I stood up on the pedals to accelerate from a stop, the chain skipped, and caused one of the links to stick. A stuck link causes the chain to skip through the cassette and is not only annoying, but can damage your cassette. I could have limped home under easy riding, but I still had the south hill to climb, so I called for a ride. I was able to get a new chain on and ride to work this morning. However, it got me wondering, how long should a chain last? Will this happen often?



Well, this really depends on the conditions your chain is exposed to (rain, dirt), how you maintain your chain, and how hard you ride your bike. Common knowledge says anywhere from 500 to 2000 miles is about what you should expect. This chain had almost 1000 miles on it, which would put it on the lower end of its expected life span. It did get me through the early summer, which meant it saw its share of rain and dirt. I also will occasionally take a dirt trail home for part of my ride to mix it up, exposing the chain to harsher conditions. Part of my routine is to clean my bike on Fridays and lube the chain. Some would say I should do it more often, especially if I am riding in the rain. One thing I don’t do is degrease (deep clean) the chain on a regular basis, if at all. This would help rid the chain of dirt and grease and allow the lube to penetrate further and extend the life of the chain. It requires a good degreaser, which you can find at a bike shop, but it does not add much time to the routine. I think I will start doing this. 

Finally, this bike gets ridden hard. Not because I am such a phenomenal rider, but because it is an e-bike. The motor adds significant stress to the system, stress that a bicycle drivetrain would not ordinarily see. This will cause the chain to stretch and wear faster, and it will also mean the cassette will wear faster. I knew all of this when I went with the e-bike as my bike of choice, but neglected to put it in my service planning. From now on, regular (weekly) degreasing and replace the chain at 1000 miles. Check.






New Headphones

I have been trying some new Aeropex headphones by Aftershokz. These are bone conduction headphones, which means nothing goes in your ear. The headphone sits in front of your ear and transmits sound to your inner ear through mini vibrations in your cheekbones. They are lightweight, comfortable and wireless. The biggest advantage is now your ear is clear to continue to hear what is going on around you. I was so excited to try these out. How great to have your music or podcast and still hear cars approaching or be able to have a conversation without removing your earphones? When I first brought these home I excitedly told my wife about this cool new technology. She rolled her eyes at me and informed me that this technology had been used for many years to assist those with hearing loss associated with eardrum ruptures. Duh. My enthusiasm only slightly dampened, I set out to try them on my mountain bike. It took me a few minutes to get used to the feeling that something was playing the drums on my head just in front of my ear, but the sound quality was good and I was able to hear things going on around me. The next day I charged them up and put them on for my commute. For the climb out of my house, they were great, I could hear approaching cars, birds chirping, and my podcast. At the top of the hill, I started to accelerate, and the natural wind noise that happens when you go fast started to pick up. I went to turn up the headset so I could hear my podcast more clearly, and found that I was at the upper end of the volume control. Thus, my only complaint; at high speeds, they just don’t get loud enough to overcome the wind noise. For mountain biking, walking, jogging, hiking, etc., these are awesome. If I was regularly under 20 mph, they would be perfect. Unfortunately, I spend quite a bit of time at 23-25 mph on my commute, so they won’t work for me. So bummed.

Keeping it interesting

I continue to seek out new routes for my commute, as I said above, just to keep it interesting. I have ridden the newly completed Appleway Trail that runs from University Rd to Liberty Lake a couple of times. (Parts of the trail have been around awhile, but they just completed the Sullivan area connection) What a great community asset. This trail crosses many streets, so it is a lot of stop and start, but there are crossing signals at the busy streets to help you across. It is relatively flat. University on the west side of the trail has great bike lanes, as does Appleway, to help you get there. I love to see our community continue to invest in these non-motorized transportation and fitness corridors. Try it out! If you figure out a good way to loop it with the Centennial Trail, let me know. Pines does not have bike lanes, possibly Evergreen?


Goal Update!

Weight continues to come down, 218 is the new number. (Thank you stomach flu?) I am thrilled at the impact commuting is having on my weight loss goals. Other benefits I can confirm: I sleep great. I am tired at night, fall asleep easily, and usually sleep straight through to my alarm. I am also finding my body is adjusting to the additional workload and I don’t notice as much stiffness or soreness.

Mileage updates since the last blog:

Miles ridden: 260.72

Miles not driven: 319.2

Fuel Savings: $27.19

IRS Savings: 183.54

Commute Smart NW YTD Savings: $320.74, 1,125 miles not driven.

Ride on!