By Peter Burns

Photographs 

I bought my phone because it has a good camera and I wanted to record my adventures in the Vermont countryside.  Bike riding is about momentum and every once in awhile I see something I think would make a good photograph, but I don’t stop, because the ride is more important than the images I bring home. 

By Peter Burns

Local Motion is an advocacy organization for cyclists, but also supports pedestrians. I am passionate about bike riding, and also about walking. This month I will write about walking, and in November I will return to bike riding.  I will continue this pattern for the foreseeable future.

By Peter Burns

Repetition and Difference

Most mornings I ride into Burlington, either to go to the YMCA or to work.  With slight variations, my daily route is the same but each time I ride, there are differences.  The weather shifts from day to day, my mood is different and as the seasons flow one into the other, the flora and fauna change as does my outerwear.

By Peter Burns

Mental Maps

I can trace most of the main roads in Chittenden County in my mind.  Sometimes in the winter, I like to remember the rides I took in the summer, retracing them in my mind.  As I leave Chittenden County the mental map starts to fade out.  When I am planning a local recreational ride, my mind automatically explores a few different routes, along with the possible road conditions. Traffic and wind direction also important.  I want to avoid busy roads, especially during rush hour.  If the wind is blowing at more than ten miles per hour, I ride into the wind on the way out, and with the wind on my way home. Sometimes I change my route during the ride. In the evening of  June 17th, I was riding back toward Winooski on Middle Road in Colchester.  My original plan was to take a right on Route 2A and head home by way of Mallets Bay Avenue.  But I was low as on water and wanted to use the facilities so instead, I took a left on 2A and went to the Burnham Library for a break. Because I have a clear mental map of the area, it was easy enough to figure out the way home from the library.

By Peter Burns

It is possible to write an autobiography focused on any number of subjects. While it would not be appropriate for this blog, I could write my storytelling autobiography, my reading autobiography or my work autobiography. We all live multiple lives. Here is my bicycle autobiography. 

By Peter Burns

Number 1

Finding a place to urinate can be a challenge.  I don't like to stop within sight of a house, and it is nice to have a place to lean my bike.  On most rural Vermont roads it is possible to get out of sight fairly quickly, behind trees and bushes.  It is easier when there are leaves on the trees and bushes.  

By Peter Burns

A couple of months ago I was in the locker room at the YMCA when a friend asked me about bike injuries.  I said, "Sometimes my wrists hurt and once in a while I get a sore knee or back, but I don't have any chronic problems because of bike riding. Even on a steep hill it is possible to go slowly and stay relaxed if you find the right gear and use the correct cadence."  My friend said, "That is a good life lesson."  Here are two more life lessons drawn from my bike riding experiences.

By Peter Burns

Maps 

I can use the map apps on my phone, but I prefer paper maps.  In an unfamiliar place, the phone maps are  difficult to follow.  They give a micro view of where you are, but not the bigger picture.  When you zoom out, street names disappear.  Last summer when I ventured across the lake to ride south to Port Henry and then took the ferry back to Charlotte, I almost got lost. I used my phone and maps copied from a New York State Atlas, but I would have preferred a regional map. Sometimes I can tell where I am but I am not sure if I am heading in the right direction.  There is also the option of mapping out a route using one of the map apps and then printing it out.  I first learned to use maps in England, when I was walking through the countryside. I used Ordinance Survey maps which are beautifully designed. Perhaps I inherited a bit of map reading ability from my father.  He was a flight navigator for B-52 airplanes, although he was never involved in any actual bombing runs. 

By Peter Burns

Insects

In the summer I am not usually bothered by mosquitoes or ticks but I still wear bug repellent because when I stop by the side of the road for a break or go into the woods to answer the call of nature, I  get swarmed by mosquitoes. I also get attacked by mosquitoes when I ride up steep hills.  I climb so slowly that they can keep up with me but when I get to the top of a hill I leave them behind.  On sunny days I wear sun glasses and on cloudy days I wear clear glasses.  This keeps most of the insects out of my eyes. Once, many years ago, I rode into a bee and it stung me on the chest.  It was startling.    From time to time I spot a butterfly flitting through a field.  I can identify Monarch Butterflies, Swallowtails  and yellow Cabbage Butterflies.  Beyond that I am clueless.  In the summer I often hear the sound of crickets and cicadas. One December, a couple of years ago, it was 70 degrees just before Christmas.  I went for a ride in Shelburne and as I glided through the countryside I felt strange because although the temperature felt like summertime, I did not hear any birds or insects. 

DIY

I have an old pair of Pearl Izumi winter bike tights that have a zipper at the bottom of each leg. One of the zippers broke and this presented a problem. The tights are second hand, so I did not feel that I could return them to the manufacturer. Having a seamstress replace the zipper would be expensive and my sewing skills are not up to replacing a zipper myself. The tights are very warm and aside from the zipper, in good shape. I did not want to get rid of them. I needed a way to keep the lower part of the tights closed. I could have duct taped them shut, but that would make it hard to put them on and take them off. The most obvious solution would be to tuck the tights into my socks. This would work, but I wear long underwear under the tights and I need to tuck my long underwear into my socks so the long underwear does not ride up under the tights. I tried keeping the tights closed with rubber bands, but that left big gaps. The same thing happened when I used metal pant leg cuff clips. Then I remembered a pair of footless wool socks that I bought a couple of years ago when Eastern Mountain Sports was going out of business. They proved to be the perfect solution! First I tucked my long underwear into my socks, then I put on my tights and finally I pulled on the footless wool socks. They kept the bottom of the tights secure and also provided an extra layer of warmth. I was very pleased.