I've been riding a bicycle for transportation around San Antonio since the summer of 1998, and would like to offer some information about biking in San Antonio. Almost all of my riding has been commuting around town. I don't consider myself a sport cyclist, although I've participated in a few of the rides organized by the San Antonio Wheelmen and did the Wildflower "100" (actually about 50 miles) once,

I ride a bike for transportation for a number of reasons. One is exercise. Another is that I feel that I'm using fewer natural resources and polluting less than if I drove my car; there's a sense of moral righteousness in using a bike as transportation. And then there's the fact that it's fun and has a sense of adventure. It amazes me that I can get from one side of the city to the other under my own power. I've gotten to know the city a lot better since I started riding for transportation; places that I just drove by are now familiar to me. I enjoy, and am subjected to, a greater variety of stimuli than I am when I drive a car. One of these is the smells; while I'm riding I've smelled perfume, new-mown grass, rotting meat, cigar smoke, fabric softener, cooking food, dog feces, candy, marijuana smoke, Christmas trees, mud, and a lot of other stuff I can't remember now. Then there are the thousand little vignettes you glimpse as you pass by; little slices of the drama of people's everyday lives. It can make for an interesting ride.
By the way, I do still own and drive a car.

It might seem that I ride along in blissful contemplation of my surroundings, but I can seldom afford that kind of inattentiveness. I've got to keep an eye out for rogue cars, random potholes, and street irregularities that would be at most minor vibrations to a car, but which could pitch me in an undesireable direction, or off my bike entirely. Having said that, on the few occasions when I have taken those long, uninterrupted rides in the country I find myself feeling as though I'm rowing across a huge lake in a rowboat. It's hour after hour of flat, dull, boring pedalling, often against a stiff wind.

General Strategies
My general strategy for bike travel is to find residential and other less-traveled streets which will take me where I want to go. I avoid the more heavily trafficked main streets when possible, except sometimes in low-traffic times. This strategy works pretty well inside Loop 410, where I do most of my riding, but I have found it almost impossible to use outside the Loop. This is because the older streets were usually built on some kind of grid pattern, so that some of them ran parallel to the main thoroughfares. Newer residential streets are laid out in a more irregular, maze-like arrangement that often is useless as alternate routes. Actually, they would be a lot more useful if a few connecting routes were provided, and this is one of the suggestions I'd have for improving bike transportation amenities in San Antonio.

One problem with the strategy described above is that these parallel residential streets frequently have stop signs on many of the cross streets. We as cyclists are supposed to abide by all the rules that motor vehicles have to follow, so one should stop for each of these signs. I don't, usually; I do slow down and check both ways, several times, before crossing. This introduces the danger that I will be hit by a motorist if I'm not being really careful. It also forces me to slow down at each of these intersections, and, basically, risk my life on my split-second judgement of whether or not a car is coming. Cars can be pretty stealthy sometimes. It's a tradeoff; one isn't risking being sideswiped by a passing motorist every few seconds, but one is risking being hit by a motorist coming from the side. Of course the legal and safest thing to do is stop at each cross street. Another issue that has been brought to my attention about this is that bicyclists have to set a good example if we wish to be considered as equal users of the roadways, and going through stop signs is not a good way to do that.

I also try to stay to the side of the street and let the cars pass if there is room. This can be a problem, because sometimes there really isn't room for them to pass without coming uncomfortably close to me. Sometimes the shoulder of the street varies a lot in width, so that it's fine in some places, but then narrows, becomes intractible, or disappears, forcing me to go into and out of the street. This is not good; I have to keep an eagle eye on my rear-view mirror to make sure I'm not coming into the path of a motor vehicle when re-entering the road because the shoulder disappeared. Bandera Road is an example of this kind of condition. Sometimes I ride on the sidewalks, but this is a desperate measure. For one thing, the sidewalks don't always run continuously, and you might have to stop every time you come to a cross-street because the curb drops. You might also have to re-enter the roadway when the sidewalk ends, and see the preceding remarks about variable shoulders for this. There are frequently exit/entrances from a parking lot or driveway which cross the sidewalk, and a car turning into one of them from the road might not expect a bicycle to be whizzing along the sidewalk; you have to be very careful when crossing these. The other thing about sidewalks is that when a bike rider is riding on sidewalks, he's doing something which, to a motorist, seems rather unpredictable. He's not behaving like the other users of the roadway, and I think this spooks motorists, because they don't know what that bicyclist is going to do next. You want to be regular and predictible when riding and driving, and not pull any crazy stuff. Drivers alreay think you're crazy just because you're riding a bike.
I give hand signals when I make turns. Sometimes I fear they will be misinterpreted as gang signs or offensive gestures.

Cars

In general, my relations with motor vehicle drivers have been good. I hear a certain amount of griping from bicyclists about hostile and insensitive drivers, but I haven't seen it - yet. As another driver, I find San Antonio drivers to be frustratingly inattentive and not very conciencious; the turn signal is definitely considered optional here; but as a bike rider they've been OK to me. In fact, the response is usually positive; often people will wave or shout out "Alright!". I get the feeling they actually approve. Sometimes they honk the horn, which I don't like; it startles me.

I have had a few close calls with cars, including one in which I made actual contact. The situation has happened a few times: a car stops, you have the right of way, so you figure they saw you and you continue on. Then, just as you are passing in front of the car, it starts forward! Evidently they didn't see me after all. One good reason to give cars a wide berth, even if you have the right of way. You can read about my incident here.

Dogs

While motor vehicles are the greatest threat to a bicylist's safety, another significant threat, especially here in San Antonio, is loose dogs. There are cities with more loose, wild dogs, but in San Antonio these dogs are generally owned by people, so that supporting every loose dog there is a careless person. Unfortunately, in this city there is no dearth of careless people. I have made many attempts to have the city animal control remove a troublesome dog, but I have never experienced the disappearance of one which I knew to be due to the efforts of that office. It's possible, but more likely that the dog died or was removed through other efforts or causes. I was told that the animal control officers (the "dog catchers") can't pursue a loose dog onto private property. How likely is it that a dog will remain on city property when trying to evade capture? I don't see how the city ever does capture dogs, unless they willingly leap into the nets and cages of the collectors.

The good thing is that most of these loose dogs aren't out to bite you; they just like to ambush you, give you a chase, and maybe scare you a bit. Cooling off due to breaking out into a sweat because you've had the heebeejeebies scared out of you by the sudden appearance of a snarling, barking dog who has every appearance of intending to tear you to pieces right there can be refreshing in a way, but I'd gladly forgo the refreshment for a little more peace of mind. You just never really know what the dog will do until he does it, and then it is too late. I have not been bitten by a dog while riding my bike; a dog has never even tried to bite me, as far as I can tell, while I have been riding my bike. But it's a stress I'd rather do without, and really, should not have to endure, legally, which is one of the things that makes it so infuriating. I can't think of the number of times I've fantasized about having a gun when one of these dogs "attacks" me.

I have been bitten by a dog here, however; it was while I was running. For those who are interested, here's My Dog Bite Story.

Other Dangers

Once or twice some young males on foot have made as if to grab my bike while I was riding it, but they've never followed through. This does bring up another issue; you just aren't as physically protected from hostile people when you are riding a bike. I'm a fairly large adult male, somewhat in decline because of my age, but still probably imposing enough to not be as likely a target for miscreants as many others who might otherwise want to use a bike for transportation. This is unfortunate, and I think the situation creates one of those "vicious circles" so often found; if nobody is on the street, then those who are will be more vulnerable, and those who aren't will be afraid to go out. If we had more people doing things like walking, riding bikes, riding public transportation, etc., the streets wouldn't be such vacant, dangerous places. I was once told that I wasn't the right color to be riding where I rode, which was the South Side. I can't imagine what the person meant; we live in an egalitarian, racially integrated society, where everyone is treated equally regardless of race, creed, or color - right?

Bike Commuting

Most of my bike riding has been commuting. I started riding to work a few days a week back when I worked at Brooks Air Force Base (back when it was just an Air Force Base and not a City-Base), a ride of about 13 miles each way. I was lucky enough to have the use of shower facilities, which I think I need because I sweat like the proverbial (not the actual) pig. I was kind of inspired by another guy who used to work there who lived somewhere near me and rode in to work almost every day. He had graduated from school and moved to Portland, Oregon, but I emailed him and asked him what his route to work was, and also about showering. He said he usually didn't find it necessary to shower, but occasionally in the summer he'd use alcohol and a rag to freshen up.

Later I got a job at Ft. Sam Houston, which was about a 6 mile route each way, and I rode almost every day. The building I worked in had been nurses' quarters at one time, and between almost every two offices there was a bathroom with shower. Unfortunately, I worked out in the cubicle farm area, and had to try to make arrangements with some of my more tolerant co-workers to use their showers. Tolerant co-workers proved to be in short supply, however, and finally a place was found for me in the basement. I was known while I worked there for the colorful displays of drying bike clothes festooning my cubicle.

Later still I went back to Brooks to work, and for a time (thankfully, in the winter) the shower facilities were inconvenient, so I used the rag-and-alcohol or just a makeshift partial sponge bath to make myself semi-presentable for work. I did work, however, in a big, dark, room, so it didn't really matter that much what I looked like. I didn't get any complaints about smell, nor do I think, in all objectivity, that I warrented any.

So maybe I'm not the best source of advice about commuting and showering, but there you have my experience. I'm hoping to be able to commute via bicycle in any future jobs I might have, so I'll update this with my new experiences.

At one time, I brought almost everything every day; shoes, towel, soap, clothes, but after awhile I left a towel, soap, pair of pants, and shoes at work, and carried only a shirt, underwear, and socks each day. I'd always have to find a place to dry out my bike clothes, because by the time I got to work they were pretty wet with sweat. Sometimes this was around my office, but that usually caused directives from management to find a more discreet place, and usually they were good enough to help me find one. Of course, outside is the best place, unless it's raining. I really should have got one of those small collapsible racks, but never did.

I was also lucky to work at places where the management allowed me some flexibility in my schedule. Bike commuting doesn't necessarily mean that you can't meet a rigid schedule; in my case, I'm chronically late anyway, both arriving and leaving. But it did make for a longer commute, especially when you figure in the time to change into and out of your bike-riding outfit, and cleaning up. Sometimes it seemed as though all I did in my life was work at my job and commute to and from my job. Commuting by car, there's little preparation needed; you just walk out to your car, get in and go. I figure that the bike commute counted as exercise which I'd otherwise have to do anyway, and, thinking of it that way, the time difference wasn't so great.

My Bikes and Gear

I have two bicycles at present, both of them recumbents: a Linear Long-Wheelbase folding bike, and a Lightning "Stealth" (this model is now called the Phantom). I've owned a number of other bikes in my life, and when I got interested in biking this most recent time, I bought a "cross-bike", a Giant Cypress. It was a good bike, and I rode it for over a year, but I just didn't like sitting on that saddle, even on a sprung seat-post, for more than a few minutes. I am not faster on my recumbents; both of them are heavier than the Giant, but generally, I'm much more comfortable. I'll be adding some notes on recumbent bicycles, and give you my personal opinions about them.

Here's how I have outfitted my bikes:

• Flag: I have a red-orange flag on the left (traffic) side of my bike. I'd really like to have two, but I want the other one to be yellow, and yellow flags are hard to find.
• Headlight: Sigma Sport. A good basic light, but mine is flaky because the two halves of the shell have to fit together just right for the light to work properly, and they get loose after awhile. I tried holding the shell together with a big rubber band, but evidently there's something subtle about the way the switch works, and this doesn't always work right. I had a CatEye headlight for awhile, and it worked pretty well, until it was thrown off the bike and dashed against the pavement too many times.
• Little flashing white light in front: made by Planet Bike. It's great because it runs a long time on its batteries, and helps alert motorists of your approach.
• Flashing red lights behind: the configuration of these varies. I have a hard time attaching these to my bikes, because the brackets are all made to attach to standard bikes, not recumbents. The best thing I've found so far is to attach a light to my flag, about mid-way up. This requires some special support which I've made out of stiff wire, because otherwise the light hangs down and points its light toward the ground, not out toward cars behind me. It's best to have several flashing lights behind; you can't be too visible.
• Fender - my Lightning came with a rear fender, and I would like to have a front one. This kind of accessory can be really expensive, though, especially for recumbent bikes.
• Panniers: I have two Panniers that say "Ultrasport" on a band outside them. I'm glad to have them, but they are inadequate to my needs. The one on the left side is almost completely taken up with bike survival gear: inner tubes, pump, tools, bungie cords, etc. I can't imagine how people take long trips with only the stuff in their panniers.
• Other containers: I usually sling the strap of my "bag", which is one of those cloth briefcase-style bags, over the back seat of the bike. Occasionally I'll take a little blue lunchbox, which I bought because I thought it would protect fruit from being mashed inside my regular bag. I guess it did, but now fruit gets mashed inside that little lunchbox, just from being knocked around inside the hard container. Obviously I need to pack it more carefully. I have bought a large messenger bag which has a strap long enough to fit over the seat, and which I think would be able to hang along the side of the bike's seat. I haven't used it yet, but it would augment my carrying capacity considerably.
• Clipless pedals: I think these are great, but you have to wear bike shoes to use them. Takes a little while to get used to using them, but I've never had a time when I needed my feet to come out of the pedals when my feet didn't come out. Right away.
• Water bottle; two is even better.

Here's how I outfit myself:

• Helmet: the one I have now is by Bell, and much in need of replacement. It was autographed by Salsa singers Victor Manuelle and Ray Sepulveda, but those autographs faded away long ago.
• Rearview mirror, attached to helmet. This is indispensible. It's amazing how many times I trust my life to what I see in this rear-view mirror. It is annoyingly in the way when I'm looking forward, but invaluable for the rear view, and I've got somewhat used to it. I wouldn't want to ride without it.
• Cycling gloves: supposedly you don't need these on a recumbent, but I like to have them.
• Gloves: I have some full-finger gloves for when it's cold, but they really aren't adequate. I need better ones.
• Pants: of course I wear pants when I ride my bike! I got some cycling shorts when I had my standard bike, but don't need them on the recumbent, so I got some light gym shorts to wear. Trouble is, especially on the recumbent, because your legs are more perpendicular to the ground and sun, your legs get too much sun. I have one pair of stretchy black pants that are almost like tights, but not that tight. They are made by Nike, model ACG (I think this stands for All Condition Gear), and I got them at Oshman's. I also wear, especially in the winter, cargo pants that have zippers to convert them into shorts. I'm experimenting with long pants for summer, and last summer I found these workout pants at Academy that are made of this silky-feeling material, in two layers: the inner layer is solid, but the outer layer is perforated. Would be nice if both layers were perforated, but they worked pretty well. Not too expensive, either: I think they were about $11. That's one thing about bike stuff; it's real expensive, so if you can find alternatives, it might save you a lot of money.
• Shirts: I wear bike jerseys, because they are fairly bright and they dry fast. For winter, I have a long-sleeve T-shirt made of some kind of synthetic material. I think it's Nike ACG. If it's quite cold out, I'll wear an anorak, which is like a windbreaker, and I might wear some kind of fleece thing between my inner and outer layers.
• Sometimes I put the tubes of socks, with the toes cut out, over my wrists, because the sleeves of my other garments pull up and the wind gets up them and freezes my wrists otherwise.
• Headband which goes over my ears, if it's cold.
• Raingear: I bought a rain jacket and pants from Hostel Shoppes. I actually wear the rain jacket a lot even when it's not raining because, unlike my anorak, it zips up the front, which makes it easier to put on and regulate the amount of warmth. Plus it's yellow, while my anorak is teal. I also got some booties, so that my feet wouldn't be as cold. I guess they help, but my feet still get cold; after my 1.5 hour ride to work in the winter my toes would be numb. They'd still be tingling at lunchtime.
• I wear two pairs of socks when it's cold, but this makes my bike shoes tight. So I took some socks and cut off the toes, so I could just put the toe parts on. This works OK, but it's easy to lose those cut-off toes.
• Bike shoes: these are necessary for the clipless pedals I use. Mine are Shimano, and they've been great. They aren't the hard plastic road-bike kind; they are leather or something like that, and I can walk fine in them, even if I do grind a pebble underfoot from time to time.

Health Issues

I read that bicycling is good exercise. But what do we mean when we say "bicycling"? I can see that the kind of riding Lance Armstrong does is great exercise. But in my case, I'm often stopping for traffic, and probably don't get the same cardio benefits that a sport rider does. I'm actually a little confused about this. Supposedly, we're to get our heart rate up to a certain level and keep it there for a certain amount of time, something like 20-30 minutes, in order to get enough exercise. But when we exercise, we're also supposed to be able to carry on a conversation; this is a general guideline. From experience, I can say that it is not possible for me to carry on any kind of conversation other than hoarse gasps and croaks when I've got my heart rate up to that magic rate. I also hear that walking is excellent exercise - as good as running. You just have to do it longer. But I doubt one's heart rate is ever up to the prescribed rate while one is walking. I figure my biking is somewhere between walking and running in terms of cardio effort. While I don't think it's as good a workout as running, I figure that an hour spent on a bike, even in traffic, is pretty decent exercise. Maybe someday I'll get a heart monitor and make a more educated estimate.

I wonder about the effects of exhaust and other pollutants such as asbestos from brake pads. I figure that riding around on the roads exposes me to more of that, more directly, than if I were in a car. Perhaps the health benefits of riding are being offset by the health hazards of exposure to pollutants? Well, it's not that often that I'm really right in traffic, and I'm out in the open, so I'm hoping that the negative effects aren't too bad.

Another hazard is sun exposure. This is especially an issue here in San Antonio, where the sun is quite strong, and it's especially an issue for those of us who ride recumbent bicycles because, as you can see from the photos of me riding, the legs are outstretched, more or less at right angles to the sky. I didn't worry about this so much when commuting, because the sun was not high then, but for riding around in the daytime, it's worth thinking about. I find putting on sunscreen to be just one more pesky part of the ritual of getting ready to ride, so I've tried to find clothes that are cool enough to wear out in the sun, that still cover me. See the section on gear for more details about my clothes.

I suppose I'm branding myself as a wuss for saying this, but I did get kind of tired from my ride to and from work. It was 15 miles each way, with stops for traffic so it wasn't a constant ride, but I know I'd feel it, and there was never a week in which I did it all five days. I think four days was the most, and most weeks, it was three or two. So I think fatigue can be a danger in riding a bike for transportation. If you are spending a couple of hours riding a bike, it's going to take its toll.

My Performance

Perhaps you have been wondering "just how fast does he get around on that bike?". Good question. I've noticed that my recent average speeds for a trip are 11+ to 13+ miles per hour. On the flat, on a good surface, I cruise at about 14 to 18 mph. Occasionally I'll get up to 20 or so. When I was making my commutes to Brooks, I think my best averages were over 15 mph. But that was often with a tailwind. You don't notice that you have a tailwind unless you turn around; otherwise you just think you're a bicycling stud. My average on that commute was around 13+ mph. I remember once I was pedaling along on the flat without undue effort and noticed that the speedometer said 23 mph. Probably a tailwind.
The fact that this is city-style, stop-and-go riding has a lot of effect on my average speed. On the Wildflower 100, a fairly uninterrupted ride of about 50 miles, I recorded an average speed of 16.5 mph and a maximum speed of 34.2 mph. That's a pretty high maximum speed; I wonder if my speedometer calibration was off. Usually my maximum is about 26 mph, if I have a big downhill.