Mitch Rice: Cruising along, picking up feathers, joy, and on occasion, speed
Editor's note: Active for Life would like you to meet Mitch Rice, cycling enthusiast and activist, musician, IU Bloomington staffer (IU Office of Creative Services) and our newest blogger. Periodically, Mitch will bring us information and inspiration for cyclists and non-cyclists alike.
Photo by: Chris Meyer
Mitch Rice rides his recumbent bicycle to work and to the store, in addition to enjoying leisure rides around southern Indiana.
Why am I writing this blog? Only because biking is totally integrated into my life. I use it for commuting, shopping, recreation, health, nature watching, offsetting my recently discovered carbon guilt and those rare moments of pure joy when you're cruising down the road, blue sky, white clouds and a gentle breeze combining to create the perfect moment.
Now, I know many of you may have passed me somewhere out in the surrounding county, or perhaps riding the streets and trails of Bloomington. I am the guy on the low-slung long bike who is rubbernecking all the birds, flowers, trees, clouds and critters. I stop for no reason other than the scent in the air. I average about 11-12 miles per hour (mph) over the long run, and though I sometimes ride fast, I am never in a hurry. I know many of you train to race and love to go fast, but that is just not me. I enjoy the journey as much as the destination and I am an LSD rider (that's Long Slow Distance), and being an outdoors sort of guy, I will ride regardless of the weather. I rarely ride the bus to work.
A defining experience
I took a riding tour courtesy of the American Youth Hostel in the '60's; we took a trip from western Maryland along the C&O towpath to Washington, D.C., and back over the Alleghenies to Pittsburgh. Even though there have been quite a few decades since that time, that experience helped shape my identity, that I can do just about anything, if I am prepared and persistent. That youthful trip logged 400 or 500 miles, and now I ride around 4,000 miles in a year. I can't imagine the day I won't want to get out and ride first chance I get.
When I first started biking here in Bloomington, I was totally burned out on driving. I had been working as a contractor for 15 years, driving to and from the jobs and lumberyards three or four times a day in my various beat-up trucks. The money, the insurance, the hassle, the gas, the grease, the time, they all came together in a big ball of cognitive dissonance, so I stopped.
During his rides, Mitch Rice encounters a variety of weather conditions, including flooded roads. Rice rides in the sun, snow or rain.
Not cold turkey, but I found I could reduce my vehicle time by finding a job that didn't require tools and a truck. We moved to town, and I started commuting on my bike. As riding my bike 5 miles to and from work became the best parts of my day, I soon realized I should also spend some time riding for the fun of it. I started easy, riding out to Griffy Lake Nature Preserve via Fee Lane and back through Cascades Park. Soon I found the big lakes, Monroe and Lemon, and pedaled my weary but excited way around them, then started exploring Lawrence County (it's really just as good as Monroe, with great rural roads and little traffic.)
By the time I got my recumbent bike about 5 years ago, I was totally committed to a biking lifestyle. I found that it helped with my hypertension, my work tension, and I had lost weight.
So what's with the funny looking bike?
Here are some questions I get. Is it harder to ride? Yes. Lots harder? No. Different? Yes. Clumsy at slow speed? Maybe. (who's asking?) Elegant at high speed? Yes. Comfortable? You bet.
But to tell the truth, I no longer have a choice. About 5 years ago, I developed a neck problem that persisted for months. It was after I rode about 200 miles per week for nine months, and not only did my neck freeze up, but my wrists and hands were going numb. Add to that my grandfather's death of prostate cancer, and I needed little convincing that the recumbent bike was the best option for me.
My style of recumbent is known as a LWB (Long Wheel Base) model. It's a cruiser, built for comfort and not for speed (thanks to Howlin' Wolf for that line). As Mother Nature's son, I often stop and pick up souvenir stones, shells, feathers and flowers, and bring them back in my saddlebags. I carry a camera, food, water, field guides and extra clothing.
I've ridden off-road through Birdie-Galyan Road, across flooded Moore's Creek Road, and on frozen Lake Monroe this year; and the recumbent had no problems. It can be difficult uphill. You cannot stand on the pedals to add weight to your power; everything is in the legs, the breath and smooth gear changing. Downhill is something else -- the faster the bike goes, the more stable if feels. Wind resistance is the major deterrent to higher speeds, and the more you are reclined, the faster you go.
In 1934, the UCI (Union Cyclist International) outlawed recumbent bicycles in their races because they were so fast. The world's speed record for a human powered vehicle (somewhere over 80 mph), is held by a recumbent bike with a full fairing. Recumbents have been around since 1896, for a more complete history and some great pictures see: http://www.bicycleman.com/history/history.htm.
Riding the Hoosier Uplands
About a half an hour ride in any direction from Bloomington will put you into the countryside surrounding our "cityversity." There is no way to avoid the hills, you have to learn to love them, even if they defeat you on occasion. There is a real thrill in cresting the top and still having enough juice to downshift and get up to speed; it may take a few months or years, but you can get there from here. The further you go into the county, you find less traffic and more flora and fauna.
Most weekends, I try to ride 30-45 miles -- usually in a loop -- but on some days, a down-and-back along one of the less hilly routes is more appealing. I often loop down to Lake Monroe by riding the signed bike route south of the YMCA to Jackson Creek School, then over on Rhorer Road to Harrel Road.
The ride down Harrell is a classic karst ride -- small steep hills all the way to Moffatt Lane. Riding east on Moffatt Lane, at Handy Road the name changes to East Stipp Road, which has a great hill, one of the fastest in the county. It took me a couple of years to realize I could do it without brakes and stay in my lane. It takes about 30 seconds, and the temperature always drops considerably when you get to the bottom. Last week I measured 58 mph, and I've heard of others going even faster. Did I mention, wear a helmet?
I've started to keep a blog of my weekend journeys with my pal Jojo. We are hoping for 50 weekend rides this year, and we're on schedule, having ridden out of town every weekend this year. All weather riding is not that hard in Southern Indiana, many of us do it; if our infrastructure supported cyclists more completely, even more would do so. For a good look at what a city can do with old streets and new policies, watch the six-part video podcast on biking at: http://www.abillionbikes.com.
In my case, even though I've been an outdoors person all my life, the idea of riding my bike on snow and ice was new until a few years ago when I first ventured onto frozen Lake Monroe. This year January was flooded. February was snow and ice, while March was cool but mild. With all that, the coldest-feeling day so far was a damp windy 40-degree day in April. But none of it was unbearably cold or wet, when properly prepared. For more about my bike advetures this year, go to: http://mitchrice.org/bike/.
There may be feelings as good as the pleasure I get when gazing at the fluffy white clouds in the impossibly blue sky while climbing that never-ending hill -- only to see a hawk fly across your path as you crest the ridge -- but no feeling is better than that moment of oneness with the world. Try it, you'll like it.
Mitch Rice is concerned about the safety of both bikers and pedestrians in Bloomington and is chairperson of the Bloomington Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Commission, which is called upon to comment on new construction, recommend bike routes and hear the petitions of neighborhoods asking for traffic calming. He recommends these bike safety Web sites, saying the first one "is the best."
http://bicyclesafe.com/, http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/nrd-30/NCSA/TSF2003/809768.pdf, http://www.kenkifer.com/bikepages/health/risks.htm, http://www.bicyclinginfo.org/bc/perspective.cfm.
