“Look! No Hands!”

During the ride home on my usual route today, I was struck with a pang of jealousy and shame. On this one stretch of bike path, there were at least a half-dozen bike riders not using the handlebars, most of whom were able to PASS me going downhill.

I don’t pretend to have a good sense of balance; I dance ballet and figure skate competitively. But whenever I try just lifting my hands a fraction of an inch above the handlebars, something along the lines of THIS epic mistake brought to you by Youtube happens.


What’s the DEAL!? I must have missed some invaluable lesson in my elementary bike riding lessons as a child.

Now, UNFORTUNATELY, according to Colorado State Law, riding without using your hands is ILLEGAL.
Here's the actual law itself:

"7. A person operating a bicycle or electrical assisted bicycle shall keep at least one hand on the handlebars at all times." [See Official Website]

Who knew? Well, it seems there were even MORE people like me who had nasty accidents on their bikes that lead to this law being put in place.

Now, there is a loophole in this law that brings me to a slightly more befuddling issue:
Biking while using a cellphone.
TECHNICALLY, there are no laws (YET) that prohibit one from using a cellphone while biking (since you can still bike with at LEAST one hand).

You may be asking, "Why would they need to make one? Only complete idiots talk on cellphones while operating heavy machinery that could kill people in an instant."

You'd be surprised just how many of them there are.

Just a year ago I was walking by the Physics building on CU campus when I saw (you ready for this?) a guy talking excitedly on his cellphone, riding a bike with one hand and not wearing a helmet. Perhaps it was the spirit of the Physics building that gave me insight into the inevitable, but the scene that unfolded was exactly as I predicted it:


Rider + bike + cellphone - hand + TREE =


He went RIGHT over the handlebars and into the tree. Then, MIRACULOUSLY he rolls over and gets up, leaving his bike mangled against the tree, still yapping away on his cellphone like nothing happened at all.

Oh I'd give ANYTHING to tell you this story was completely made up just to prove a point. But no, the situation lent itself quite splendidly to the cause, and I was finally given the opportunity to tell it in an effective context.

Am I advocating for anti-cellphone biking laws? I would really prefer it to NOT come to that point where a law NEEDS to be made. I am merely stating some facts that I sincerely hope all of you intelligent people out there will take to heart and share with the world.

Seriously, riding a bike without hands (and without a helmet) is illegal and dangerous! Everyone stay safe out there!

^_^

Why Is My Bike So Hard To Pedal?

Oh how I have missed riding my bike. I just got it back this Monday and already I feel like a better person!

However, just this morning, I noticed something was terribly wrong…

I mean, biking in 80-degree weather without shade is hard enough, especially when you have a dark helmet absorbing and retaining all the heat. Well, I guess it is better to be overheated rather than lying on the ground with a fatal head injury. So I guess a little heat is a small price to pay for living…but anyway. The heat wasn’t the main problem.

Normally, when you’re riding your bike, typically you don’t feel like you’re biking up a mountain when you’re on a TINY incline? I know I usually don’t, unless I’ve got virtually my entire bookcase in my backpack while riding to my art history class. With only a water bottle and a few notebooks, clearly something wasn’t right.

I stopped on the bike path to take a look at my bike to see if any of the gears were grinding, or if the brake pads were rubbing. Nope, everything checked out fine. My tires felt firm too, so what was wrong with this bike?

It wasn’t until I looked down and saw that the chain was a gear higher than it should be… I had been riding in 24^th gear when my gauge told me it was in 16^th.

Oops…

AND I noticed there’s a lot of accumulated gunk in the hubs. It’s probably due to the INSANE monsoon-weather we’ve been having.

I intend to take my bike down to get it tuned up before I attempt that ride again.

My situation was a rare one. But there are a multitude of different factors that can make your bike feel like you’re pedaling through molasses, and all of which the people at the CU Bike Station can help you fix!

1) Tire deflation

2) A dirty or dry chain (which probably lead to my chain getting stuck on that gear)

3) Brakes rubbing

4) Wobbly/crooked wheel

5) If your wheels are straight AND the brake pads look okay, but your wheel still slows to a stop without them, you might have some gunk stuck in the bearings or the hubs (it’s GOOD to have grease though!)

Fatigued muscles are the ONLY things the bike shop can’t fix (which could also be an issue).

But if you make sure your bike is happy, you will be too!

^_^

Summertime.

It's summertime. That means classwork takes a back burner, and the glorious warm days of Boulder's summer are to be taken advantage of. That means piling on the inner tubes and hop in the swollen Boulder Creek.

Our blog writers are doing just this, so our posts are a little slim pickings these days. If you readers have something to share, drop us a line and we'll post a few guest posts this summer to add variety.