A Geek Goes Flying

I’m a big proponent of checklists . Checklist Manifesto appeared on my reading list as least as far back as 2 years ago . As a pilot, I live by them in the cockpit, and constantly tweak mine . As an overtaxed professional with varied practice areas and interests, I’ve been developing them in that aspect of my life. As someone who always seemed to manage to forget something on a day trip, I’ve built reusable templates in Apple’s Reminders app . Including a bicycle pre-trip checklist:  Bicycle checklist in Reminders app Watching my morning commute in Cyclemeter  today with my Apple Watch kindly providing heart rate information, I kind of vaguely remembered that there’s a number I should be shooting for , but I just kind of forgot the details. Apple Watch heart rate display in Cyclemeter Need to add my max and average heart rate targets to my checklist, so I see them regularly. Because my brain is full.    

So, your humble narrator is a bit of a n00b when it comes to ... Well, um, moving. With an Apple Watch connected to my iPhone and a copy of Cyclemeter , I have some solid insight into my commute to/from the office. Heart rate info from Cyclemeter Now, my maximum heartrate should be somewhere roughly in the range of 170–185 (the back of napkin formula is 220 - your age in years, so if you were, say, 37, max heart rate should be about 183). And for moderate intensity exercise they ‡ say you should be shooting for 50-70% of that maximum. So, according to a cardiologist I know, that hypothetical 37 year old person should “try to stay close to 70% of max ~128 bpm. There is no advantage conditioning to push further and risk of injury goes up.” Even if training for a zombie apocalypse , I asked? “Won’t help.” So, there we have it. I never even thought about it, really, before. I pushed to what felt “right” and like a workout, and my heart rate was an interesting bit of trivia. Now I’m ...

With the vehicles in the shop, the bike is my only option right now ... And the weather is conducive, so, legs pumping is the order of the day. I picked up: ABUS Ivera Chain 7210/110 Sparkling Bicycle Lock ($65); well reviewed (I’m usually not away from my bike for any length of time, but this lets me pop in for, e.g., groceries, with less anxiety) Gieury Carry On Backpack, 50L for $33 I don’t expect it’ll last forever, and I’m mostly using my Timbuk2 bags for daily stuff, but if I need to take a box to the post office or the UPS store, or if I’m stocking up on bulkier groceries, this works well. Finally, randomly, I ran into a mobile bicycle service and repair business, Out Front Cycles . Which could be just the thing I need, since I think my bottom bracket is going out again.  

Updating and enhancing my existing commuter kit . Swapped the Bose Tempo Frames to adaptive lenses . Success. Make the trip home right at sunset multiple times now and there’s no perceptible difference between the glasses and “naked” eyes. ROCKBROS Bike Pants Strap Cycling Reflective Ankle Bands Adjustable Pant Leg Straps for Biking to keep my jeans out of the chain (etc), vs. french rolling . Replacing the Power Grip Straps on my Power Grips High Performance Pre-Assembled Strap/Pedal Kit . (One of my straps is in really poor shape.) Adding a NiteRider Solas 100 Lumens USB Rechargeable Bike Tail Light that I’ll clip to my backpack or whatever bag I’ve got slung, in addition to the 1W Mars 4.0 mounted on my seat post. I want additional visibility and something I can recharge at the office if I find myself stuck with dead batteries. (Which, I also swapped the existing rear light to USB rechargeable AAAs .) The Topeak Tail Lux Helmet light is $20 and comes with a strap that mounts it ...

In between Storms of the Century ™, I’m back to bicycle commuting to the office. (For not the best reasons: Weight loss (again, sigh), and, my senior mutt can’t make it up the stairs anymore, so she hasn’t been coming in with me, so I don’t need to accommodate her with my Jeep and a ramp [1] and ... But at least I feel better on the bike.) Revant lenses for the Bose Frames Tempo sunglasses: 👍 I’ve been using the Bose Frames Tempo sunglasses again, an xmas present from my mom back in 2020.  They still work incredibly well, audio is good all things considered, and they don’t isolate me from the environment when I’m cycling. (I mostly stick to bike paths, with some limited time spent in traffic.) I’ve even been able to participate in Zoom conferences with vendors, boards of directors meetings, etc., while on my commute, and no one has complained about wind noise or said they’ve had any issues hearing me. Impressive. The lenses are too dark for riding at dusk, though, and with sunse...