Mountain Bike Tire SALE!

Tires are priced to compete with the *ahem* internet AND you get an extra 20% off if you buy a pair (they don't even have to match).

Some of these tires were caught in a little springtime flood, so their packaging got damaged. And their price reflects that. Thankfully the tires themselves are made of rubber and not cardboard, so they're still good. Some of them were not in the flood, and they're still on sale.

Maxxis, WTB, Hutchinson, Ritchey. Good stuff. Oh, and they're all 26" (sorry 29ers...). Come in and check them out.

Thanksgiving

I know it's early, but I wanted to give you plenty of warning. Hub Bicycle will be closed on Saturday, November 22 and will re-open on Saturday, November 27.

We (No longer the corporate we! If you haven't had a chance stop in and meet Charlie, he works here now and he's a good guy) are going to be on some Thanksgiving adventures.

I'll remind you again as it gets closer.

DCCX

I got my best result of the season in Washington DC this weekend! 39 out of 46 finishers. If I can continue the trend of moving up 2-3 places each race, I'll only need 4-5 more months of 'cross to win one...

Why would I travel all the way to DC when there were some really decent races happening in New England? I like a good road trip. And it gave me a chance to visit my dear friend Seeb*. I took the overnight train down (it's the only Northeast Regional train that has a bike-carrying baggage car). I don't want to brag, but I'm pretty good at sleeping, so I had no trouble resting up even though the train was packed. When I got to DC the sun was rising. Here's the scene outside Union Station:

That's the Capital Building way in the back. I've seen that place on TV.

The race itself was great. Fun course, friendly people. In fact, I added two people to my support/heckling team just moments before the race (thanks Mckenzie and Chris!). I didn't want to burden Seeb with having to do all of the heckling. It also happened to be beautiful weather, I stayed in and raced in the nice part of town, I had all kinds of wonderful food, I rode around on the ridiculously clean Metro, I saw a LEGO architecture exhibit... so as far as I can tell DC is like Disneyland.


To top off the weekend, on the train ride back I happened to find a seat in the quiet car that was 'broken'. The seats in front hadn't been able to switch around so I was the only person on the train able to do this:

And therefore the only person on the train sleeping like a very comfortable baby. Oh man, such a good weekend for racing bikes...

*Not her real name (depending on who you ask).

Observation

Well, dear web log readers, I'm on the mend, and I learned that the right-hooking driver did, in fact, get a ticket. I wouldn't say I have complete closure on this unfortunate incident (there's still the issue of my bike to deal with), but I think it's time for us to move on here. So how about a nice observation I've made in the last couple of weeks?

Cyclists following traffic laws. It's been happening, and I'm really happy about it. I like having company at the red lights. It gives me a chance to admire other people's bikes (like I don't get enough of that at the shop...) and chat with other bike nerds. Why does this seem to be happening?

Is it the Same Roads Same Rules campaign catching on?

Is it because the colder weather is leaving the die hard velonauts standing? I've noticed that there are fewer folks traveling in the bike lanes as the weather gets more fall like (that's not the nice observation... I'm getting to it). Despite the fact that the weather is still reasonably fair it seems that the fair weather bikers are starting to hang it up for the year. Which is totally fine. I'm not judging. I'd rather that someone commute by bike for one month (or week, or day or on every 4th Thursday) than not at all. The one thing I'd rather that folks not do is blow through stop lights/signs, bike ninja it, or bike salmon it. I don't want to stereotype fair weather cyclists, but it seems to me that folks that ride less are less involved/connected with the cycling community and therefore are less exposed to their rights and responsibilities on the road.

Could it somehow be the influence of the new bike lanes and sharrows?

Could it be that I'm seeing what I want to see? I hope not.

So, I really I don't know why, but I hope it keeps up. More respect can only get more respect. Oh, and to all the cyclists out there, there's still plenty of great, if slightly cooler, riding left to be had!

I got hit by a car.

I did. I'm fine. A little banged up, but I checked out A-ok. My bike, eh... not so good.

I think it looks like it's giving a hug.

A woman right hooked me on one of the residential streets near the shop. Here's a tip for drivers- the first thing you should say to someone after you hit them with your car is "Are you Ok? Can I call you an ambulance?" NOT "I had my blinker on. You ran into me." She kept saying I came out of nowhere, which I know is not true- I was in front of her on the road for the full block before she hit me. How do I know that? When you're on a bike you're 1,000,000,000 times more aware of the traffic around you (accurate to +/- 1,000,000). Thankfully, four police folks had showed up before I was even able to lift myself off the pavement, a) so they could make sure I was Ok, and b) so I didn't have to talk to that woman. The paramedic was great (a mountain biker), and the nurse was almost as upset as I was about my bike ("That SRAM stuff is great... I've got it on my Tarmac.").

I hate that it feels like it was inevitable. I've been a bike commuter my whole adult life, so I was bound to get hit sometime, right? That seems like a terrible thought to have. I'm a responsible cyclist and road user. I wait at lights, yield for pedestrians, stop at stop signs, and so on. It's not inevitable. There's plenty of road for everybody. Everyone has rights and responsibilities on the road and if we all watch out for each other then no one will have to sit in the emergency room waiting to see if her elbow is broken. If that woman had just been aware and had seen me on the road I would have been fixing bikes, instead of making friends in the ER.

On the upside, I got this:

if only...

Fall Hours!

The light is definitely changing. It's getting (pleasantly) colder. I know fall technically started a little while ago, but it actually feels like fall now.

Here are new Fall Hours:

Monday-Friday: 11a-7p
Saturday: 12n-5p
Sunday: Still Closed (cyclocross!)