I’ve been leaving my car at the Ridges and riding in to work this week.  Today was the third day in a row.  It’s a quick 1-1.5 mile ride in, depending on which way I go.  And I have found that I can actually get back to the Ridges to pick up my kids at preschool faster on bike than by car.  Taking the bike path and roundabout tunnel gets me there a lot quicker than waiting in traffic in my car and it’s a lot more fun. It’s not a hardcore commute by any means, but I have a good time doing it and it gets me on the bike for a few minutes.

Here’s the route:

Find more Bike Ride in Athens, OH

Pawpaws and pedals make a great combination, so this year’s festival features the Pawpaw Double Nickel, a 55-mile road bike ride through the hills at a really nice time of the year. Starting and ending at the festival, this ride will take you from Lake Snowden on a circle tour around Zaleski State Forest. Enjoy challenging climbs, ridgetop views and sweet downhills, all along the Raccoon Creek Watershed. A fully stocked aid station awaits you just past the halfway point.

Does 55 miles sound like too much riding and not enough pawpaw partying? Opt to do a shorter loop of approximately 20 miles that still features plenty of climbing but can be conquered in less time. No aid station will be available for this loop, but we can guarantee a downhill for every climb.

The ride will take place on Saturday, Sept. 19. Rider registration will be at the festival from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. – get started on the ride any time during those hours. The aid station will be set up until 2 p.m. The self-guided, self-paced ride is included in the price of the festival admission fee ($5 for one day, $8 for the weekend), and includes a map of the ride, marked turns on the roads, and the aid station. Please note that there is also a vehicle-parking fee of $2.00 per day or a weekend pass for $3.00.

Helmets are required for all participants. There will be no rolling support so be self-sufficient (carry appropriate tools and water). For additional information about the ride, contact Peter Kotses at pete@athensbicycle.com.

via 2009 Ohio Pawpaw Festival.

Other rides that I might do are in this post.

1.  Add a summary tab to the list of the tab interface

Summary is clean

RidewithGPS’s tabs are awesome, but I’d like to see a summary tab that incorporates information like the screenshot above.  I appreciate the weekly, monthly, and yearly totals on the summary page.  I can honestly do without the table that Bicycling has, but others might find it useful.

2.  Mileage and Mapping of routes is optional

Mileage/map optional

Some routes, such as bike paths, are really hard to map out on a website.  Also, I’m likely to ride on our bike path a certain amount of time, then turn around and go back.  Bicycling’s Training Log allows me to enter a route without requiring a map (or GPS) and without requiring mileage.  This allows me to enter the mileage separately when I log an activity.  Currently, with RideWithGPS, I would have to map out the 33 mile bike path ride I did yesterday before I entered it on my log.   My understanding is that the developers are working on ways to enter activities without requiring a map.  I will definitely appreciate this feature.

3.  Script for embedding stats

Embed stats on your blog

Bicycling’s training log allows you to embed stats on your blog or website, simply by cutting and pasting a bit of javascript.  The developers of RideWithGPS seem to be very gifted folks, so this would likely be an easy to implement.  Also, I would imagine that allowing people to embed stats on their blogs would be a great way to publicize RideWithGPS, as well as promote the social nature of the site.  The widget that Bicycling has looks kind of generic too, so I imagine RideWithGPS could make a much cooler widget.  RideWithGPS’s map and histogram embeds are very cool and easy to use.  Embeddable stats would give users another option to share their data (and spread the word about RideWithGPS) all over the place.

4.  Import/Export of stats

Export stats from training log

Since Bicycling lets you export stats from your training log, one way that RideWithGPS could acquire some users is to allow an easy import feature from Bicycling.  The import of routes from MapMyRide works flawlessly.  Since Bicycling allows you to export data as an Excel file, it RideWithGPS should be able to import this data.  This seems like this would mostly be a matter of deciding which fields mapped where, then scripting the import of the data.

5.  Make the search interface more intutive

Route search is very powerful

Searching for routes in RideWithGPS is very easy.  There are multiple ways you can search.  The only thing holding the route search back right now is the lack of content there to search.

Searching by zipcode is not intuitive

It appears that currently the only user information that is searchable is the zipcode and the username.  A search for Athens or OH does not find me as a user.  You can only currently find me by typing my zipcode or my name.  It took me a few minutes to figure this out, and as a librarian, I’m trained to figure out how to search things.    A little bit of text telling user what to search (name, zip, etc) would make it easier for users to connect with others.   I’d also like to see the state and city fields searchable here as well.  Finally,   I’d also like to  be able to search for users in a mileage radius as well. I don’t know all the surrounding zip codes in a 50 mile radius, so the system ought to be able to help me find others nearby.  I think the community aspect of RideWithGPS has a great deal of potential, but users need to be able to find each other in order to maximize the potential.

These are just a few suggestions that I have with how to improve RideWithGPS.  I’m not an expert programmer by any means, so I don’t know how easy it would be to implement my recommendations.  I do see that RideWithGPS is already one of the better mapping and log tools available to cyclists, and I am excited about what the site creators will bring to the site.  The developers seem genuinely interested in developing a tool that others will use, so the end product, with user imput, can potentially be the best service available.  I’m looking forward to where they will take the site.

I started the Old Bike Blog to chronicle my progress on restoring the Columbia, and within about five months, I was done. I had absolutely zero previous experience, just a few tools, and a healthy dose of concern that I would never be able to get the thing put back together correctly. But in the end, I successfully dismantled, cleaned, sanded, painted, re-greased, and reassembled my bike. Today, it is my grocery bike, and has been joined by several other old bikes, all of which I’ve restored or refurbished. My learning curve has been (and still is) extraordinarily steep, and I discovered not only a passion for the work of restoration, but also the absolute importance of really *knowing* your bicycle, inside and out, front and back. It’s something everyone *can* do, and I believe very passionately in the democratizing potential of do-it-yourself bicycle mechanics.  That’s how riding (and working on) bicycles has changed my life, and will continue to do so for many years.

I’m still learing to work on my own bike.  One of the reasons I don’t work on my bike more often is I’m afraid of having it down for too long; that is, me taking too long to figure out what I’m doing and missing riding.  His comments there do give me some confidence and inspiration to attempt to learn and *know* mby bike more.

I’ve only been checking out RideWithGPS.com for a couple of hours, but here are some initial thoughts.

1.  There is an easy import feature directly from MapMyRide.  I loved this feature, as it allowed me to migrate my content easily, with a simple click.  If you’re tired of the MapMyRide ads (free version), then  this a great way to get your content to a less cluttered online service.

2.  The ride profile screen, shown below, is awesome. I love the fact that it is uncluttered and ad-free.  MapMyRide drives me nuts with the ads.  Yes, I know if I pay the ads should go away, but I’m on a budget.   I also love the fact that RideWithGPS.com gives you the total elevation in the top right of the ride screen, as well as an elevation profile below the map.   You’ll also noticed that there is a Gear Used section in the bottom right of the page.  If you have multiple bikes (or motorcycles) you can select which one you used, and it will show up on this trip details page.

3.  Drawing a route is easy as it can be.  There is a feature to have the program “Follow Roads”, which means there are a lot fewer clicks when drawing a route on your computer.  I found this feature to work pretty well, although for some reason when merging onto a major highway on a route, the software did something a bit crazy.  I just select the “Undo Last Point” option, and changed the drawing options to “Draw Lines” until my route got off the major highway.  Other than that little hiccup, the “Follow Roads” option makes it so you have to click fewer times when creating a route.  As a result, creating a route is not nearly as tedious as with other programs.

4.  The activity log (image below), which tracks what you did and when, looks to be intuitive and easy to read. With limited use, I only have one ride posted thus far.   There is both a month view and a list view to suit your viewing preferences.  My only complaint with the activity log is that you are required to select a route when entering a new activity.  There are times when I would just like to say “I rode 18 miles on the bike path in 65 minutes” without having to actually map or draw the route.  Otherwise, I’d have to map out the route to specified turnaround points, which is very difficult to do on a bike path.  I’d have to map the turnaround points as specific landmarks, such as a road crossing, which is not always convenient, as there are times when I just ride as far as I can for 45 minutes, then turn around.

Overall I like what I see at RideWithGPS, and I’ll likely continue using it for the time being.  It has most of the features that I need, is easy to use, and seems to be fairly quick and stable.  The developers also have a blog which they use to promote  features and post updates.  This looks to be a really promising tool for recording bike rides, and I am very interested to see where the product goes in the future.

This article from OregonLive offers a good introduction to the sport of randonneuring.  It also includes a glossary of key terms.  I appreciate that the article is written by someone who had just finished her first 200k brevet, which gives it a good beginner’s perspective.

It’s snowing. Or raining. Or dark. You’d rather be riding outside. But you’re not – you’re inside, riding and going nowhere so you can hurt other people’s legs this spring. We’re here for you. The Sufferfest is dedicated to indoor cycling workouts and the people who suffer through them. It’s your resource for podcasts, downloads, workouts and music to make indoor riding fun (fun? really?), more punishing, and more worthwhile.

via The Sufferfest – Spinning & Indoor Cycling Resources.

The last organized ride I did was the MS 25 in Chattanooga, Tennessee, when I was around 14 years old.   I’m looking to get a few tours and charity rides in this year.  Here’s a list of a few bike tours that I’ve got my eye on.

• Tour de Forest. May 9, 2009.  45 miles
• Marietta River Rendezvous.  June 6 & 7.  120 miles
• Athens Quilt Barn Ride.  July 18, 2009. Various lengths.
• Pelotonia Bike Tour for Cancer.  August 28-30.  3 different routes.
• Sequatchie Valley Century.  Sometime in October (date not yet available on the website).  100 miles

For other rides in and around Ohio, take a look at the Ohio Bicycle Events Calendar.

I also spent 30 minutes this afternoon on the eliptical trainer at the gym. I tend to enjoy doing the interval mode, as it simulates hills to a certain degree. The work and recovery helps to really get my heart rate going.

Current weight: 211

In other news, I had a decent lunchtime workout on the cross trainer today.  30 minutes of intervals.