Get a stemmed glass out of the cupboard....scan the wine selection, what's chilled, what's at it's peak....open a bottle pour a little into that glass, swirl, sniff, check the clarity and legs...pour some more, sigh deeply and be thankful you made it home....we are glad for you! And would join you in the libation....as long as you are buyin'.

You want wine, eh? I just tagged along on a friend's annual buying spree at her favorite winery. They do an annual warehouse sale, minimum of two cases, but as we were with her and she buys four or five cases, I was able to buy just one. The Barbera was great, the Sonomatage (a blend) was good, I got a mixed case of those. Next weekend we are going to our friend's winery for their annual selling event, we usually get a couple-few cases there. So in a week, we'll have lots of new wine here to toast - well, hopefully things more worthy than my commute.

The thing is, we give a fair number of dinners here, guests bring wine, we drink their wine, other guests prefer booze or beer, so we don't actually go through much of our own wine. We may only buy a couple-few cases a year, and most of that is still here a year later. Once I went down into the basement and counted eleven cases of wine. We put a moratorium on buying wine for a year or two afterwards, so I think we've worked it down a bit.

I have sometimes wanted to become a wine snob/collector, with a special cave and everything, but I don't have enough time and not quite enough interest in drinking. When there's no dinner guests, we might go through a bottle every three weeks, and half of that will be for cooking.

John, I seem to remember that my crew and I put a dent in your wine stash last summer!

Interesting thoughts on bicycle commuting. Portland is definitely different than Dallas and my suburb, Garland, when it comes to bicycles. Dallas is so behind the times. We have bike lanes that last a few blocks, then nothing. I can almost see the day when Portland has more bicyclists than car drivers.

Sally

I am one of the rare "commuter" cyclists in my town. By commuter I mean that I use my bike as my primary means of transportation. I actually work at home. There is a bike club here but they are weekend hobby riders with flashy bikes and gear, neither of which I have. And there are the fixie riders who ride in clumps all together. But I don't see them much anymore. Maybe Darwinism is at play.

I often encounter cyclists riding against the traffic coming at me. Ugh. I point to the other side of the street and tell them they are safer riding WITH the traffic. But mostly I ride all day long with the spotty bike lanes all to myself.

Bike lanes here are a joke for the most part. Mostly they are nonexistent. There are green signs posted around town indicting bike routes but they seem arbitrary and are only posted on side streets which run through neighborhoods full of broken up streets and cul du sacs. Some major thoroughfares have wide shoulders marked with a painted line but no bike symbol giving me a bit of a buffer against cars but on those same roads the painted line will disappear as well as the shoulder space.

I do ride on a few of the busy streets that have shoulder space. But the main drag and downtown streets have zero places to ride a bike. I was nearly hit recently while crossing the main drag by a car making a left turn. He was driving into the setting sun and probably didn't see me.

I do try to time my errands for when traffic will be light but that isn't always possible. I rarely ride after dark. It's too unnerving. I'd like to inquire about your lights, John. I don't have any lights except a feeble red flasher that I clip to my backpack or shoulder bag. I agree about reflective materials. I need more lights and better ones.

Eileen

My helmet spot is this generic Chinese unit:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B006QQX3C4/ref=aw_ls__1?colid=2GSFZS0PNT5ZL&coliid=I1X430TSQPEDDC

$38, takes a couple weeks to arrive from Hong Kong, uses a single Cree XML T6 LED, claimed 1200 lumens but is probably more like 600-800.

Runs about 1 hour on a charge, maybe more on "low brightness". The battery pack is a bit bigger than a "D" cell, and recharges from the wall. Both light and battery are mounted securely on my helmet using zip ties through the helmet vents. You might have to get creative if your helmet isn't the liberally vented type. Or use it on the handlebar with the supplied mount.

This is functionally pretty close to Magicshine MJ868 for $140, and to other branded single-LED lights by NiteRider etc.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B005JG3LUQ

http://www.performancebike.com/bikes/Product_10052_10551_1126782_-1_400903_400014_400158

My handlebar light is an older NiteRider MiNewt that is functionally similar to the MiNewt 600 linked above.

The handlebar light is aimed down at the road about 30 feet in front of me. The helmet light is positioned so that, when I'm riding, it normally points down and not in people's eyes. Lift your head to point at drivers, street signs, etc.

I also have one of these little blinkies in white on the front of the bike, one in red on the back of my helmet, and one in red on the back of the bike. They are not very bright, but still reasonably noticeable at night (they are slightly directional, aim them at drivers' eye level), easy to attach anywhere, cheap at $15, and don't clutter up a bike's lines. The batteries last me a few months and bulk CR2032 batteries are very cheap (while buying 1 at a time at RadioShack is expensive). Helmet mounting is a good idea - if you only have one taillight, put it on your helmet. Up high, the light stands out a bit better.

http://bontrager.com/model/08919

Finally I have a standard bike taillight using two AA batteries - a Cateye, I think - on the seatpost. I am unhappy with this as it ruins the look of the seatpost. I may be re-positioning it soon. If you are not irrational about bulgy things clunking up your sleek bicycle, then get a standard AA-powered taillight instead of the CR2032 blinkies. Portland Design Works makes a good one, as do Planet Bike and Cateye. There are Chinese generic versions for $10 too.

http://www.ridepdw.com/goods/lights

I'll post a picture of the lights, later.

Here is a link that might be useful: Light

Interesting to hear the story from the bikers point of view. Sometimes I get fed up with bikers on our roads. I recently had to pass a biker on a narrow-ish suburban road at the same time a car was coming the opposite direction. It was one of those perfect storm situations where we all passed each other at the same time. I couldn't stop because there was a line of cars behind me. Still I left as much room as possible between me and the biker, but he still felt it was necessary to shake his fist and yell something I presume was uncomplimentary, such as "hey old lady, I own this road, not you."

Another time I had to make a right turn as a pack of bicyclists were making the same right turn. There were about a hundred in this group, no lie. This was during rush hour in Philadelphia, which is not for the faint of heart. I stopped and waited for them to go by but they were in no hurry, with many of them stopping their and waiting for a buddy or whatever. They completely filled the right lane and I had no choice but to pull slightly into the oncoming lane to make room for them. Since I couldn't get back in my lane, I was blocking traffic in both directions, and Philadelphia drivers are not known for their patience, so things were getting ugly. I finally, slowly started inching into my lane, hoping the bikers would make way for me. I could then give them room again once I was around the corner. But no, it was somehow imperative for them all to stay together with their bright lime green shirts. Now the bikers started smacking my car. Being born and bred in Philadelphia myself, that was my cue to be a big pain in the ass, so I just continued to assertively pull into my rightful lane. Ha ha.

Both of my sons are avid bikers so I do try to be extra aware and courteous to them, but ya know, it's gotta work both ways. I even look in my rear view mirror before opening my car door when there may be bikers coming by. My brother got doored pretty badly one time.

My son, who mountain bikes, just got new LED headlights:

Cyclists en masse have a tendency to claim the road in an obnoxious way, true. I never ride in a group. I brave the streets for my daily adrenalin dose as a solo rider. I hug the curb as much as possible. I hate this time of year when piles of leaves fill the bike lanes, such as they are.

I have been yelled at, sworn at, told to buy a car, called a b*tch, and had something wet tossed on me. And in all of these instances I was not anyplace I wasn't supposed to be.

Eileen

Bike ninjas. Yea, they tick me off too, but as a car driver. I am more than happy to block the traffic behind me when a bicyclist is inching up a hill or has an especially narrow place to navigate (Nashville isn't fully bike friendly yet), but those bicyclist who dart between cars, face traffic, or go the wrong direction in general (my absolute favorite? They cut across an interstate exit from right to left, when the cars are turning left and right at the same time?!!!!)? Them? Those ninjas are on their own. I'd protect you.

DH use to commute to work on a bike until he almost got killed a couple of times. They weren't really bike friendly in Silicon Valley 25-30 years ago. I remember him telling me about a time he was in the bike lane when a woman opens the passenger door and he slams into it going quite fast. She didn't ask if he was OK or even pause but hopped over his body and ran into work while the car drove away and he was left laying in the road. Also he has had 3 bikes stolen, 2 at work because they won't let them take them into the office.

I am usually on the side of the bicyclists except when there is a pack of them that take up the whole road. Here in Santa Cruz we have narrow country roads and it is hard to pass a whole group. There are a lot of bike ninjas and idiots that don't wear helmets. There is always a story on the news about a bicyclist vs car or truck and of course the bicyclist wasn't wearing a helmet. We all know who wins that one.
Clare

The streets in this busy, dense suburban area are not bike-friendly at all. Two of our staff tried riding their bikes to work, one got involved in a minor accident and busted his arm. The other one got spooked and decided to go back to the car. So dangerous.

I'm in my car and I don't trust other drivers - people are nuts. (And stupid).

The scariest, craziest bike riders are the bike messengers in the city. I've seen them here in Philadelphia, in NYC and in Paris. They are NUTS! I think it is a badge of honor among them to see who can look the wildest (dreads, tattoos, piercings and so on) and be the most daring out there in traffic. When they'd come to the office to pick up a package they would stink to high heavens, but I forgave them that because none of us would be an olfactory delight after riding bikes through them mean urban canyons in the middle of summer.

Eileen, here is a picture of my helmet with the front light, battery pack, double red blinkies, and video camera.

It does look a bit Robocop, but the light is worth it. My setup is not as bright as what dedtired posted above - night mountain bikers need more light than anyone - but it is good for commuting where the concern is as much being seen as seeing.

Portland is a pretty bike friendly place. The most important thing is that most drivers know what to do when they run across a bike. Err, let me rephrase that. When they encounter a bike.

I have maybe three unpleasant experiences in a year which for me is about 600-700 trips on a bike, almost all of them in the city. That's not bad. I'm not counting close calls, those aren't intentional, and you take them in stride. I'm only counting getting cursed at, excessively honked at, or being deliberately swerved at. That's not too bad.

Heck, I probably used to get my blood pressure up more when I used to drive every day. On the bike, I don't stew over things. I just push harder and enjoy the ride.

John, I always, always love reading your stories.

Good for you and the rest of the bikers - saving the environment one car trip at a time!

Helmet: I love how you have your name and wife's phone number - but shouldn't it be 'SWMBO'? LOL. I'm passing on that tip to some biker friends. Great use of a P-Touch, aren't those things indispensable. I wonder if one should put medical insurance info on there as well, j/k.

And now for the enablement: www.cellartracker.com. Link below. DH got a bar code scanner, stickers, and is going to town on our (his) own wine collection.

Here is a link that might be useful: cellartracker

I was going to put my blood type on the helmet too, but an EMT told me he would never pay attention to what someone claims their blood type to be, he uses universal plasma and at the hospital they use a quick blood typing test. The risks of infusing an incompatible blood type are too high.

Medical insurance information sounds like a good idea. Although [rant] have you checked what your "insurance" actually covers, lately? Our family of four pays about $16K/year in employee contribution. And our total family deductible is around $12K/year. We have not consumed over $12K/yr of medical care in at least ten years, probably not since the last child was delivered. Basically we pay $16K/year - and my company pays at least as much - for catastrophic coverage. On a day-to-day basis, every doctor visit and every prescription is coming out of my pocket.

I'd rather we had the system they have in France. Everyone, rich or poor, has basic, no-frills medical coverage. Those who want nicer, fancier, more sophisticated treatment - private rooms, cutting-edge technology, $100K/yr drugs - have the option of buying commercial insurance policies, if they can afford it and want to. But everyone, rich and poor, has a basic and decent level of care. We may get a version of that in the US, starting in 2014. Maybe. "There's many a slip, 'twixt the cup and the lip." Who knows if it will actually happen. [/rant]

After reading this

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/21/technology/bicyclists-using-cameras-to-capture-accidents.html

I got interested in wearing a video camera, so you see on the helmet my initial experiment. It is not the $300 GoPro that a serious biker-recorder wears, but a $38 micro-cam from a Hong Kong mail order hobby shop. Meant for use in radio control aircraft, helos, etc. After experimenting with this cheap camera, I'm putting a nicer videocam on my Santa list.

Aside from the "evidence" aspect, it is instructive to view a recorded ride and think about what dangers I did and didn't perceive at the time. I've been riding in traffic since I was a 7 y/o boy riding in downtown Vancouver B.C. on my Peugeot ten-speed, but I still make mistakes every day. Just like we all make mistakes driving, even though we've been doing it all our lives.

I'll post a link to some video later.

Here is a link that might be useful: NYT Story

Just got back from the winery. Jeez it is pouring rain here in Oregon, roads were like rivers. Two more cases of wine headed down to the basement. A case of 2008 Barbera. And, more exciting, a case of 2003 Reserve Merlot. I loved this wine when I tasted it 2 or 3 years ago, but at the time it was too expensive and we were too full on wine. Now it has gone up in price, but we haven't bought wine in a while and the stuff isn't getting any cheaper, and if I dither another couple years there will be none left, so . . .