The Snake

Well folks, it is once again Memorial Day in Eastern Iowa and that means that it's bike racing time. The best event of the weekend is the Snake Alley Criterium. This race makes a number of folks top ten races in the country. Snake Alley is a one block long climb on a historic brick street, dubbed "the crookedest street in the world." The 276 foot long Snake Alley has 5 switchbacks in a sixty foot climb. The average grade is 12.5 percent in that one block. I'll be hanging out with "The Devil" on the Snake. Wander on by and enjoy the show.

The Late Night Blues Brothers

I went to the Redstone Room last night to listen to The Late Night Blues Brothers Band (MySpace Page). This is a tribute band and they do a righteous job. This genre is the stuff that I grew up listening to. I have a real soft spot in my heart for it. I'd met the bass play on a bike ride that I've been doing for a number of years now. Now... If they could only work up Electric Flag w/Mike Bloomfield's cover of Howlin' Wolf's Killing Floor.

My daughter went with me to the show. We saw them last year at Taste Of The Quad Cities. It was nice to get to do this with her. The only odd thing was when I asked if she wanted something to drink and I got to fetch her a Captain and Coke. I was feeling a bit old.

But What Happens If....

I'd like to welcome a special guest to my B2WW Blog. Please give a special B2WW Blog welcome to Obviousman. Obviousman, I was hoping that you can answer this vital question, "What happens if it rains?"

Obviousman - "You get wet".

Thank you, Obviousman


Seriously... The little bit of rain that that occurred during my ride home today was no big deal. It wasn't even worth pulling out the rain jacket. Now I will admit that I do have fenders on my commuter bike and I was wearing clothing that will keep me warm if it gets wet. The only real consideration was to be careful turning onto the Viaduct Bridge and the Government Bridge. Wet metal is very slick and you do have to be careful. The same goes for painted lines and cross walks on the road.

I did have my first Gold Finch sighting of the year today.

Bike To Work Week

Well... We had the first event of Bike To Work Week this morning. This was put on by the QCTag group. They are an advocacy group that it trying to get folks out of cars and onto their feet, their bikes, or the city buses as an alternative to driving a car everywhere. This was a familiarization ride for folks in Davenport and Rock Island to show how easy it is to get around. They had a city bus there so folks to get a chance to see how to use the bike rack that is on the front of all of the city buses.

The next event that I'm planning on attending is the Commuter Breakfast on Monday morning. It is starting at 0630, so I'm taking some time off of work in the morning. I'm normally in the office at 0600. I am also going to be doing some blogging about B2WW on the QC Times web site. I think that I might find that a bit challenging since riding the bike to work is pretty much an everyday thing. I think that I'm going to write more about the things that I see. It looks like I might be able to include pictures. So here is going to be my first offering as to why I ride to work.


This was the view I had riding into work the other morning