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Burn Bike, Buuuurrrnnnnn
As part of my preparations for Burning Man, I decided that I needed to get a cheap bike to take. The idea of taking my mountain bike, and having it possibly stolen or covered with playa dirt did not sit well with me. I hit “the craigslist” and started searching around. After 5 minutes of clicking on ads with poor pictures, incomplete descriptions, and lack of contact info, I knew I had to hit a used bike shop. One shop cleverly had an ad on craigslist for “Burning Man Bikes”, I knew I couldn’t go wrong.
I had been wanting to get an around town bike for a long time. I would love to ride my bike to the bar or to events around town, but once again, the stories of bikes being stolen are burned into my brain. I had also wondered if I would be more willing to take the train around town if I had a small bike that could easily get on/off the train, and would be easier to get up stairs and elevators. I had been toying with purchasing a BMX style bike for a while.
When I got to the bike shop, I was a little disappointed to see the selection wasn’t exactly what I was looking for. BMX bikes commanded a hefty premium, and the typical burner bike was a beat up, ugly beach cruiser. Also after doing some research, there was worry that a BMX wouldn’t fare well on the playa surface. This wasn’t going to work. As I headed for the door I was talking with the owner about what I was looking for. He took me outside to look at a few options. Hidden in the crowd was a mini-mt bike/bmx hybrid “franken-bike”. 24 inch tires, a tiny frame, a shock, and 8 speeds! Here we go!
3 days later, I took my bike out for it’s second voyage around the city. I wish I had purchased a bike like this sooner! It’s very nice to leave my bike wherever I want, and not be too concerned about what is going to happen. The bike is small enough to ride into the elevator, and turn around in the elevator. Maneuvering hallways and doors is a breeze. Yet the bike is fun to ride and gets me around town pretty quick. Also I can put my feet on the ground while sitting on the seat, which makes it that much better for negotiating the city.
Bottom line, everyone should have a cheap, small bike to ride around town on! Give up that trendy huge beach cruiser!
Now lets see how it does on the playa… (and load it up with lights!)
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High-res →
My answer to “Why do you live in SLC?” (Taken with Instagram at Bonneville Shoreline Trail)
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A Yearly Run for a Non-Runner
“Why would you do that?” - The question I got asked multiple times today by my coworkers when I explained why I was hobbling around the office.
Every year in mid-April Salt Lake City is host to the Salt Lake City Marathon. Along with the Marathon there is a half-marathon, 5k, and a bike tour.
Once again this year, I chose to run the 5k. Before I go any further I realize that to a lot of people it is foolish to even bring up running a 5k, and maybe I agree. There is also the other half of the population that wouldn’t think about walking 5k, so maybe I am ok. Either way, the point is that some people are built to run, and some are not. I am not. My legs were put on the wrong way and my feet point funny. I’m lucky I can walk or stand! Ok, it’s not that bad, but I am really not built to run. (Just like I am definitely not built to ski).
For some reason I feel like I need to run a race at least once a year. Maybe knowing that I am going to have to do it is just enough to subconsciously scare me into staying in shape enough to do it. Maybe I just need to remind myself that I CAN do it. I’m not really sure of my motivation, but I like doing it every year.
Last year I got talked into running a 10k/mud run in the summer, so I viewed the SLC5K as a good checkpoint, and a little bit of help training. Honestly I thought last year FELT like the best race I had run, but when I got to the finish line I was disappointed to see my time was higher than I had expected. I ran the course without stopping for the first time, but still wasn’t very fast.
This year I really had been more focused on training for biking than running. Though the season is early, so this didn’t exactly mean I had done a lot of biking. It was safe to say I considered myself somewhat out of shape. Even if it hurt, I figured the race would be a good indicator of how I was doing this year.
Through the first half of the course I was pretty quick, though the first half of the course involves going DOWNHILL down State Street, so it was a breeze. Once I turned around and was coming back up State I knew I was in trouble. At about the 2 mile mark I had to slow it down and walk a little bit. After a little rest I made a strong charge up the rest of the uphill section, only to be close puking. I figured this run was NOT going to be pretty. As I came up to the finish line I was shocked to see my time. I was able to get in at 32:08. Not fantastic, but considering how I thought it went, I was very excited.
Here are my other highlights from the race:
- I really don’t know how nobody was hit by a train at the starting line. Putting the start/finish of a race with one side of the finish line directly next to a train track is asking for it. I haven’t heard of any casualties!
- I think I could come up with approximations for what hell is like all night, but being someone who wants to run, and can actually run, and starting a 5K is painful. No matter what you do, there are 100 people in front of you who are already giving up to walking by the time you get 10 steps off the start line. I think dodging people for the first half mile is my least favorite thing about a race.
- Nothing makes you run faster then when a guy runs by pushing a stroller with 2 kids in it. Who does that guy think he is?? Though I’m pretty sure when I was in college and ran, a guy on a walker passed me, but at that time I don’t think I cared.
