It frustrates me when a blog doesn’t have some kind of about page giving at least a brief description of the author and the purpose of the blog. And then I realized my blog didn’t! Oh dear. Well, here you go.
Why Do I Blog?
Everyone in the world has a unique perspective on everything, and that is why everyone should have a blog about something. Everyone has their own interesting view on whatever they are passionate about and they should definitely offer it to the world. It’s not about glorifying yourself or blathering to hear yourself blather, but rather about offering what you have to give to others. If someone finds it useful, you have enriched someone’s life. If someone doesn’t find it useful, they can just go find something else to read that better suits their needs. This is the beauty of the Web.
Ok, enough philosophy.
About This Blog
Just about every skill in the world has a broad range of abilities and purposes, and cycling is no different. I’ve cycled with quite a few different people and it’s amazing to me how each person has a different pace, style, and preference. And I would say the vast majority of information online about cycling is taken from an expert perspective of some sort. You’ve got articles about road racing, advanced mountain biking, and expensive gear and this is all rather daunting to someone just getting into cycling, especially since most people peddling around on a bicycle are definitely not into the more advanced techniques and professional grade equipment. Yes, most of people peddling around out there are just trying to lose some weight, find a cheaper way to get to work, or just trying to have some fun activity on the weekends. There are some good sources of information on the Web written to this audience, and I would like to think my blog is part of that genre. I think I am a qualified writer for this genre because these are exactly the activities I have taken part in just about every day since the early spring of 2007.
I commute to work by bicycle year round. I go on longer rides on the weekends on my road racer or my touring bicycle. I do the occasional trail ride on my mountain bike. And then I write about my experiences in this blog. Enjoy!
About Korey Pelton
I live in Pocatello, Idaho, with my lovely wife and 2 kids. I work as an information technology professional and my pastimes (other than cycling) include listening to music, reading Wikipedia, tinkering with various computer-related things, spending time with family, cooking, and drinking beer!
My Bicycles (As Of May 2012)
Commuter/Touring Bicycle
Here is the bicycle I ride the most, mainly because it’s perfect for commuting, wandering for long distances, mild trail riding, towing bicycle trailers, and so on. It is sort of a Swiss Army Knife bike and you can use it for almost anything. It’s a very comfortable ride, I’ve put fenders and panniers on it, and it has become my main daily transportation. It’s a touring style bicycle, meaning that it has extra long chainstays for easy trailer and pannier use, and its frame geometry is designed for cycling long distances in comfort and efficiency, as well as for fat tires and fenders. Here is a link the main article I wrote about this bicycle.
Mountain Bicycle
To the right, we have the second mountain bike I’ve purchased in my half-decade or so of bicycle buying. This bike is much slower on the road than my touring bicycle due to its upright riding position and fat, knobby tires. However it is the perfect bike for exploring steep trails with lots of loose gravel, dirt, and other questionable terrain. This is the bicycle I ride on those Sunday mornings (my favorite time for recreational riding) when I have the urge to explore some trail I spotted on Google Maps satellite view. There is no other bike I own besides this one that gives me the best possible chance of going anywhere. When in doubt of terrain, grab your mountain bike and go check it out! Here is a link to an article I wrote about this bicycle.
Road Bicycle
Lastly, for those Sunday mornings when I want to really focus on getting from point A to point B in the fastest amount of time, I hop on the road racer. I’ve got clipless pedals on this bicycles so I can spin like mad if I feel like it, and I’ve got a rack on it for carrying some snacks when I get pooped out. This is my favorite bicycle for fast road rides, time trials, and rides that are more geared to simply going crazy and burning off some excess calories. In the near future, I plan on timing myself on a specific ride with this bike versus my touring bike and seeing just how much faster this bike is!
Personal Cycling Philosophy
Here are a few cycling concepts I believe in:
- Read Bicycling Street Smarts: Riding Confidently, Legally and Safely. And then read it again. ;-)
- Look for opportunities to ride your bike rather than drive whether you’re visiting friends, picking something up at the store, or looking for some weekend recreation. Over time, you will find that cycling to a destination is more fun than driving, and you arrive feeling happy and energized.
- Bicycles are slow moving traffic, so ride accordingly. Be courteous and follow traffic laws. Since you are slow moving traffic, try to use low-traffic routes, allow faster moving traffic to pass you, and keep your ears and eyes open for motorists, pedestrians, animals, etc.
- There’s a ton of bicycle repair and maintenance resources online. Read them, buy a few tools, and keep your bicycles in good shape!
- Get active in your community and strive to spread the word about how cycling can improve peoples’ lives. Help your friends and neighbors out with bike repair, proper cycling technique, group rides, Bike To Work Month, and so on.
I’ll add more to this list as I think of things. :-)