Pilot's Blog

For years I have bragged that I have always kept the rubber side of the bike in contact with the earth while riding a road bicycle. Although I have many times crashed on a mountain bike, for 30 years and countless thousands of miles I have managed to stay upright on the pavement. That is until yesterday. I was rounding a newly paved corner onto the new Steve Harrison bike path in Chico, and didn’t notice a new speed bump at a 45-degree angle to my path of travel. I went down hard and fast and was on my back before I knew it. Thankfully I wasn’t badly hurt, just a bit of road rash, and my bike was still rideable as well. Today I find that my neck is strained and sore.

Still no baby, maybe tomorrow. I fly to Weed and Salinas tomorrow, unless baby comes.

Posted by Tom Knowles at 10:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Posted by Tom Knowles at 10:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Chico ER has had several articles of late about bicycle commuting. The combination of "Bike Week" and the unprecedented price of auto fuel has created the "perfect storm" for the bicycling advocates to get their point across. As a devoted bicycle enthusiast, I have read with interest the various tips and motivations for getting out there to ride. I haven't yet read anything that really gets at the objections most people have to bicycle commuting. So I thought I might file a series of blog entries with tips to someone thinking about using a bike to replace their car. I think the news articles have missed a lot of important information which could be helpful.

Tip 1: Don't ride a shiny, new expensive bike. You know, like the person on the cover of the ER today. Even if it doesn't get stolen the first week, you will stress out over it every time you ride. Next time you are downtown, take a look at some of the bikes you see in the racks. The best commuter bikes are converted old road and touring bikes with slick tires and ugly, scratched up paint jobs. I'm not talking about junk here. The key is to have an ugly, older bike that rides really well. This can be achieved by scouring the newspaper or ebay. Find an old road bike (say, 90's vintage) in good shape THAT FITS YOU. Then take it to your local bike shop and say you want to convert it to a "townie". They'll know what you mean. Mid-size slick tires, upright handlebars, comfortable seat, rack and pannier. If you shop wisely it won't cost much money, and it can be fun picking out the pieces. Put stickers all over it or give it a nasty spray paint job to repel thieves....I'm telling you it really works. You will still have to lock it to discourage "joy riders", but the drug addicts won't see your bike as a quick score, so a cheap lock is all you need.

I'll continue this discussion at a later date.

Posted by Tom Knowles at 08:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I just read the latest entry from another NorCal Blog, "26.2 Reasons Why" in which the writer lists 10 wishes he as a cyclist has for the motorists who may or may not share the road with him. Dennis Shmidt makes some great points and is very diplomatic in trying to make a car driver understand the plight of the road cyclist. The battle between cyclists and drivers has some interesting dynamics which you don't always see between two groups who must share the same resource (the road).

Obviously the motorists out there outnumber the cyclists by 1000 to 1 or more. The american driver, sealed from the world in his protective, air conditioned, sound proofed bubble tends to see everything and everyone else on the road as either a threat or an obstacle. The cyclist is too small to be seen as as threat, so he is therefore seen as an obstacle. The interesting thing about this conflict is that probably less than one percent of motorists are also cyclists, so very few of them see the cyclists perspective. The opposite is true for the cyclist, however, since 99% of cyclists are also motorists. Being a cyclist will help a person to be a more thoughtful motorist, to see that those obstacles are actually people.

Dennis, in his blog, tries to appeal to the better nature of motorists so that they will see the cyclists as a fellow human being. That is a good thing. But also consider this; Many of those cyclists out there, and I have met them personally, are lawyers, judges, doctors and professionals of all kind. If you take one of them out you may find yourself in a criminal and or civil lawsuit that could ruin your entire decade. A few extra feet of space can change the destiny of many lives.

Posted by Tom Knowles at 09:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today is yet another breezy day in Northern California. Many people assume that if it is windy on the ground than it must not be safe to fly a small airplane. It is true that extreme surface winds can be problematic when trying to land, especially if those winds are gusty or are crossing the runway. There have been many times, however, that I have departed the windy surface to find smooth air and lighter winds up above. The winds can be very strong aloft, say 50 mph, but still be quite smooth, and if you are lucky enough to be going the same direction, you get there much more quickly.

I have not mentioned in this blog that I am a regular runner. I try to run from 3 to 6 miles every morning before breakfast. It is by far the best way I can think of to begin a typical day, and the health benefits for me have been enormous. When I started running two years ago, I weighed 185 lbs and thought I was in great shape. For the last year I have been steady at 165 lbs, and headed into my mid 40s, thats a good place to be. Running is like many things that are worthwhile, in that it is very difficult and frustrating, even painful, when you are trying to get started. It is very tempting to quit early on, but if you stick it out, don't quit and learn the right way of doing things, it gets much more easy and fun. This is also true with guitar, golf, skiing, piano, marriage, parenting and a million other worthwhile pursuits.

Posted by Tom Knowles at 08:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I had left a car over at the Willows Airport last week, so I decided to ride my road bike over there to get it. It's about 35 miles, but the day was a beautiful one with light winds in Chico. As I pedaled out through blossoming orchards and all the sweet sights, sounds and smells of springtime, I realized once again just what a great place we have here, especially in spring. That is until I crossed the bridge over the Sacramento River at Ord Bend and entered my home county of Glenn. Now don't get me wrong, I love Glenn County. It's where I was born. (Few under the age of 30 can say that) As soon as I crossed the river a stiff wind swept in from the north, slowing my progress and making my eyes water. As I left the rich riverside orchardlands and entered the western plains of Glenn, the dank, swampy fragrance of drying rice fields filled my nostrils. The smell is especially bad these days because farmers must incorporate straw into the soil to get rid of it, where it rots as best it can. Next I noticed an increase in tiny black bugs bouncing off my helmet and getting stuck in my arm hairs. Then, to top it off, many landowners were taking advantage of the the dry weather to burn off their ditch banks and levees. At one point I was forced to ride through a solid wall of smoke and I could feel the heat of the fire on my cheeks as I passed through. I arrived in Willows unscathed, loaded up the bike in the car and drove east. Travel time: Chico to Willows by bike 1 hour, 35 minutes. Willows to Chico by car 35 minutes.

Posted by Tom Knowles at 08:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Today was the Almond Blossom 5-10K run in Durham. I was able to walk to the starting line from my house to participate with my oldest and best friend, Mat Amaro. We ran the 10k, about 6 miles, in about 54 minutes, just staying together and chatting the whole way. The rain held off just long enough, which was great for me because I have been sick for days. My saintly wife Sara, 5 months pregnant and pushing our other two little ones in a double running stroller, came in second place in the 5k walk. This woman amazes evryone who sees her! No flying in this weather.

I missed riding in the well publicized Tour de Ed. But I was glad to see many participants come out to support Ed McLaughlin and his recovery. Ed suffered a spinal injury riding his bike in Chico just before Christmas.

Posted by Tom Knowles at 04:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)