"Where have you been?"

...that's the question my mountain bike asked when I freed it from being pinned in by trash cans in a rear corner of my garage.

You see, it's been quite some time since I've hopped on my 2005 Gary Fisher Tassajara mountain bike - probably a good two years for sure.

But tomorrow and Thursday it will be a faithful camping companion as our family heads to the outdoors - to Guadalupe River State Park, home to scenic limestone cliffs, songbirds and some of the worlds most creative racoons.

So this evening I gave "Tass" a little TLC. Lubed the drivetrain, adjusted the saddle height, added some lights and generally just gave the bike some much overdue attention.
"I'm sorry it's been so long, Tass.", I replied.

"No problem, boss. Let's hit the dirt!"

Bath time!

The Valencia picked up a bunch of mud and gunk today on the commute home. A thunderstorm about an hour earlier had left all the roads on my journey home wet and ornery.

So, it got a quick rinse to knock off the worst dirt and grime was in order...

Earth Day insights...

A bike can be a real alternative to driving

I knew Earth Day was coming up but didn't realize today was the day until after I'd arrived home and settled down for the evening (actually my wife mentioned Earth Day when I went on a short errand with my daughter - we took the Ford Escape hybrid - it seemed appropriate!).

Realizing that today is Earth Day caused me to pause and reflect on what my family is doing to try and be more responsible with this great planet of ours.

While I recognize we can do so much more, I'm proud of what we've accomplished so far...

• Including today, I've spent 56 hours and logged 625.11 miles commuting to/from work on my bicycle. This has resulted in preventing over a half ton of CO2 emissions.
  

• My wife owns a Ford Escape Hybrid and we use this vehicle for most of our car trips when possible. This vehicle consistently provides 30+mpg tanks and is a low emission vehicle that doesn't burn gasoline when you're stuck in the many traffic jams that litter our immediate area.
  

• Despite living in a gated community that does not offer curbside recycling, we recycle hefty volumes of paper, plastic, aluminum and more in a pair of recycle bins we keep in our pantry and periodically empty at our parent's house (where curbside recycling DOES take place!).
  

• We use reusable (and cool) grocery store bags virtually eliminating the need for using plastic bags (not to mention that the rebusable grocery bags hold more and equal far fewer trips between car and kitchen when unloading).

What are YOU doing to reduce your impact on the environment? Give it some thought!

New route home's a dream...

...well, it involves a street named Dreamland.

Does that count?

A huge thanks to fellow bicycle commuter Phil Yantis for suggesting a great new route home that allows me to spend more time on residential streets and bicycle lanes.

It's yet another sign that just when you think you've got that perfect route home, you find something new and potentially much better.

An analysis of this route versus a couple of other routes I was using suggests that this route adds a bit more elevation gain and a little less than a 1/2 mile of additional length.

The reward? A brief interaction with traffic near my employer followed by miles and miles of light traffic residential streets (Dreamland has a shoulder as big as the lane of traffic!) and bicycle lanes (Wurzbach Parkway and Blanco Road).

Dreamland Road is a cyclist's dream

So, for the moment, this is my new, favorite route home.

...until I find something better, of course.

:-)

Review : Topeak DXP Bag

Product: Topeak Trunkbag DXP
Rating: * * * * * (5 out of 5 stars) : Outstanding!

I've used Topeak's Trunkbag DXP bicycle bag now for six months and everytime I fill this bag to the gills with groceries or work clothes for commuting, I'm impressed.

Every time.

So impressed that I feel compelled to take a photograph of the latest bunch of things I've managed to fit in this bag.

Here is what makes Topeak's DXP bicycle bag a winner. As you're about to see, it's not a short list of kudos!

• Topeak's QuickTrack system rules! The bottom of this bag slides into a track on my Topeak Explorer bicycle rack and snaps securely to the rack. This bag isn't going anywhere and it becomes ONE with the bicycle rack. No velcro straps (although it has those too for folks that don't have the Explorer rack) and no stability issues with the bag in the event you decide to attack that hill on the way home and jump out of your saddle.
  

• The saddlebags or panniers fold up and zip close so that they're out of the way when you don't need them. That adds some nice versatility since there are times the cavernous center storage area provides plenty of carrying capacity.
  

• Reflective striping keeps you visible in low light. The bag has reflective striping all around it and has a nice long vertical stripe when the panniers are down and expanded.
  

• The cup holder on the end of the bag can store a few extra items or that huge 32 oz drink you just have to grab when you're almost done with your commute and you're parched!
  

• The cup holder on the rear of the bag provides an attachment point for a rear light.
  

• Just when you think you've run out of room, a zipper around the top of the bag opens the "two-stage" top that expands the height of the center section by at least two inches.
  

• The denier nylon construction continues to hold up well despite what the elements have thrown at it.

On a recent grocery store trip I carried the following items and had room to spare: 2 boxes of cereal, 2 boxes of heat packs, bag of bagels, 4 bananas, six-pack of Jello, bag of coffee, box of cream cheese and a couple of boxes of medicine.

Small grocery store runs are very possible with this bag and the 1,220 cubic inches of storage can be a blessing to bicycle commuters.

But enough talk! Check out these photos so you'll see for yourself how the Topeak DXP Trunkbag expertly handles your storage needs and dramatically increases the utility of your bicycle.