OK, so I’ve briefly described the different kinds of bicycles. I mentioned that I didn’t think that any of them meet the needs of what I like to call “lifestyle bicyclists”.Here is the problem: None of these types of bikes make it easy to take a laptop between the office and home. None of them can carry a load of groceries very easily, at least, not without some serious planning. You need pannier bags, which are kind of like saddle bags for a bicycle, or a rack, which can’t hold very much at all, or a trailer, which really requires quite a bit of planning to use on a daily basis. Or, you could use a backpack, but that’s not good for your back, and you have a HUGE sweat mark on your back for twenty minutes after you get where you’re going. And, about half the time, you find yourself riding with one hand, while holding the bag on with the other hand. It’s not exactly safe, and it’s a real pain, trust me.My dad is a bicycler as well. But, he is kind of in the middle. While I am looking to replace all of my personal transportation with a bicycle, he enjoys the races and the cross-state rides. But, he also enjoys commuting to work several days a week. He’s kind of got his foot in the lifestyle camp, and the sports enthusiast camp…but I don’t fault him for that Anyway, he found something called an XtraCycle. Let me tell you, these things are cool. They are designed for the commuter. They are designed to make bicycling a part of your everyday life, and not just something for the sport enthusiast or racer! You should check out their website. They have a really cool product.I’ve actually just ordered one, and I’ll let you know how it goes. I’m pretty pumped. I think it’s going to solve most of my commuter bike problems! Now, if I can just find a good solution for rain gear that works for the everyday commuter, not just the serious racer…

Today, I’m mainly going to point out that most information for bicyclists out there is geared at racers or sport enthusiasts. There isn’t much info for people who are trying to integrate bicycle commuting into their lifestyle. Hopefully, this can be some small step towards changing that.

As far as some background info on bicycles for those that are uninitiated into the language, there are several types of bikes. Each type of bike is specifically designed to meet the specific needs for different types of bicycling. If you are thinking about getting a bicycle you should talk to someone who know bikes…like someone at your local bike shop, or a friend who rides

Mountain bikes have really wide, knobby wheels and are designed to be ridden off road on the dirt. They are usually made out of a relatively heavy aluminum and are designed to take a serious beating. On the road, these bikes are slow and clunky, have high rolling resistance, and are terribly inefficient. (Trust me, you may think you have a wicked mountain bike that handles great on the road, but one ride on a bike designed for the road, and you’ll never go back!) These include the bikes you buy at Wal-Mart for your kids, or that you see in BMX style sports. These bikes are off road bikes, and they are fantastic at it!

Road bikes are designed to go on the road. Don’t take them off road or you’ll have bent rims and flat tires. They just go on the road. But, they go on the road amazingly well! They are super efficient, require very little work for the distance traveled, and have amazingly low rolling resistance, which means they will roll seemingly forever. They are usually constructed out of super light carbon. (I’ve read about entire bikes, including the wheels, that weigh less than 3 pounds!) They usually have high pressure, super smooth, super thin tires…if you didn’t know better, you’d think they were bald, but they’re supposed to be that way, it decreases the rolling resistance. These are the bikes of racers, sports enthusiasts, tourists and long distance travelers.

Hybrid bikes are in the middle. They usually have medium width tires, with knobs on the edges and smooth middles. They are typically constructed out of lightweight aluminum. These bikes are designed to go under 10 miles, frequently. They are great for running to the store, and riding to work. They aren’t as efficient as the road bikes, but they are much better on the road than a mountain bike. I currently own one of these bikes…namely, a Specialized Globe Sport.

These bikes are great, but they I don’t think any of them meet the needs of riders like myself, people who are integrating bicycles into their lives.

Next, I’ll explain why I think that. See ya then!

You know what? This blog is about my life. Not just spiritual things. I think it’s unfair to only consider the spiritual aspects of my life. It’s certainly unbalanced. And, I’ve decided to make this blog reflect my life as a whole, rather than my sporadic “super-spiritual” moments. Certainly, spirituality is a very big part of my life, and it impacts and influences every little thing I do, but to focus solely on that aspect of my life is to do a terrible injustice to the rest of who God created me to be. This post marks the beginning of that change on this blog. So, hold on to your hats…here we go!

I’ve committed to riding a bicycle everywhere I can possibly do so, even in the face of inconvenience. Frankly, winter and rain have been my two biggest concerns. So, I’ve decided to blog my way through this winter on my bicycle. It will help me have a chance to look back and see whether it was really worth it or not. And, several people have expressed some concern or questioned whether it was possible, so this will be a chance to get something of an inside look at what it’s really like.

I realize that riding around in the snow with cars on ice is potentially dangerous, but I’ve invested in steel-studded tires, and taken several other safety precautions, but more on that later. That’s some of the stuff that I’m going to blog about…no need to spill the beans now, besides, I don’t know for sure how well they will work, yet.

Tomorrow, I’ll put up some basic info on the different kinds of bicycles and explain one of the biggest obstacles I have had to overcome so far.

See ya then!

Well, I mentioned in my last post that my prayer life sucks. I need to do something about this…it’s unacceptable!

I do appreciate the encouraging comments, and I’m glad to know that I’m not the only one that feels this way, sometimes.

I’ve decided that I’m going to try something. After doing a little bit of research I discovered that there is an ancient practice that goes throughout the history of Christianity…as a matter of fact, it’s nearly as old a spiritual practice as the Eucharist.

Fixed-hour prayer.

I could go into a lot of details, but I’ll spare you my boring diatribe, and recommend a fantastic book: Praying With The Church, by Scot Mcknight.

This book is an absolutely fantastic introduction to the ancient practice of fixed-hour prayer. The author does a fantastic job of discussing the importance of both fixed-hour corporate prayer, and personal private spontaneous prayer.

Here’s a quote from the book that really stuck out to me:

Prayer is both small and private and quiet and alone (like the Portiuncola), and prayer is public and verbal and with others and in the open (like the basilica). Prayer is both private and public, both personal and communal. We may seek individual prayer, but the individual needs to be encompassed by the church in prayer. We need both the personal and the communal–both are good, both are spiritually formative. 

I’ve decided that I’m going to begin observing the morning, evening and nighttime prayers on a daily basis. I’ve purchased a book called The Divine Hours: Prayers for Autumn and Winter, and will be following the prayers in the book.

Whenever possible, I will be doing this with other Christians who are also observing the same prayers, and the rest of the time, I will join my brothers and sisters in spirit.

I’m really excited about this, and I would encourage you to consider joining in. I’ll be blogging about what I see happening in my prayer life as I undertake this journey. If you are interested in joining me, I would be happy to consider opening up my home for the actual prayer times. Just let me know!