Biking Loses This Years Rush Hour Race

It’s not quite the shame on our house that you might think (only a five minute difference from the T, and no EEEEEEEEEEE sound, or other passengers to worry about), but the biker did lose this year…

Riders may not think so, but when it comes to traveling from Somerville to South Station during the busy morning commute, taking the MBTA is the quickest option.

On Tuesday, May 7, an MBTA passenger went up against a cyclist, runner, in-line skater, and driver during the second annual “Rush Hour Race” from Davis Square to Boston’s crowded transportation hub. Each participant had to obey the rules of the road while the train passenger dealt with the headache of the crowded subway system and the chance of a delayed ride.

But in the end, the MBTA proved to be the most efficient way to get from point A to point B on a typical Tuesday commute, with the the in-line skater coming in second, followed by the cyclist, who took a long and winding path through Kendall Square, Downtown Boston, before eventually arriving at South Station. As for drivers, well, it took the longest to finish the race to the final destination point with an almost hour-long commute.

 

Read more here.

Personally I think with more optimal route planning, and a bit of hustle its not at all hard to beat the red line. Combined with the health benefits, the money saved, not to mention avoiding the constant break downs and delays, cycling is still in my book the best way to get around.  But even at a leisurely pace, only being beat by 5 minutes is pretty much nothing in the grand scheme of things.

But losing to an INLINE SKATER…that shame will never wash off. Better luck next year..and dear rush hour race organizers are you taking volunteers for next years race?

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Cleaning Your Bike In The Winter (Or A Physical Manifestation Of My Shame)

Jay left this comment:

“Any advice for a fool that left his bike in the snow? (Cleaning wise, anyways)”

In an effort to answer Jay’s questions I present my own bicycle as an example…the shame burns.

I have become one of those people with a rusty creaking chain…I hang my head.

So last night I gathered up my pride and a damp towel and started in on the beast. After 10 minutes and the removal of both wheels (more on that in a later post) My bike looked like this.

My Method:

Damp towel + elbow grease + liberal amounts of chain lube = clean bike.

I wipe down the entire frame, wipe down the rims, the hubs, the cranks etc. Then I apply a lot of lube to the chain, and wipe the chain down, apply more lube, wipe, repeat till chain looks like metal again, then lube liberally and wipe once more.

What I Do Not Do:

Spray water on my bike. Spraying water can drive it into places you do not want it, especially in the winter where it will freeze/rust things you care about.

Work outside. Its just too damn cold, the damp rag method seems to work just fine cleaning it inside.

Worry about getting it perfect. If you look you will see plenty of dirty left on the bike, I just try to knock off most of it. Its just going to snow again next week, so I am not getting out the tooth brush.

In a perfect world I would do this wipe down every day, but as well know the world is not perfect, and often when you come home from a hairy snow day commute the last thing you want to do is wipe down your bike. So I try to knock back the horrible at least once or twice a month. Having an aluminum bike helps.

I hope these tips help you reduce your own shame at having a filthy bike in the winter.

Feel free to leave any tips for winter bike cleaning in the comments.

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