Life in the Bike Lane Tom Frady By the time you six loyal readers see this, Thanksgiving will be past.  While I assure ya’ll I wrote this before November 26, I feel this time of year is really the season for giving thanks, in general. If November has a theme, it’s gratitude. Gratitude for family, friends, and mashed potatoes with just the right number of lumps. We cyclists have our specific reasons to be grateful, though they’re not always appropriate to voice as the family members go ‘round...

Life in the Bike Lane Tom Frady It’s easy to tuna fish, but if you could teach it to ride a bike, you’d really have something. I was thumbing through my latest issue of Scientific American the other day when I ran across two-page chart (and you seven loyal readers know how I love charts) comparing the moving efficiencies of various forms of animal and mechanical locomotion. If you are reading this you will be happy to know you are a more efficient runner than a rat.  I am assuming rats don’t...

Life in the Bike Lane by Tom Frady There’s a rhythm to a good social ride, and at the heart of it—the steady backbeat that keeps the whole thing in time—is the donut stop. We might call it “refueling”, but the donut stop isn’t just a pause in the ride; it’s the reason for it.  It’s the reward, the gathering, the understanding that all roads, eventually, lead to caffeine and conversation. When I’m the ride leader, I first decide which donut shop I need  to experience, then build the ride...