Today’s Arizona commute started out in a rather eventful manner. I actually remembered to pack my pant leg straps this week, so I set off looking a little less ridiculous than I do while utilizing the scrunchie trick.
These leather Velcro pant-leg straps came free with the Belle‘s honey Selle An-atomica saddle. Although the large golden logos turned my ankles into a miniature billboard, it was a small price to pay for easy riding and grease-free trousers.
I changed hotels this week; therefore, I was able to try out a brand new commute. This time around, the views were more enjoyable than those of the usual mountain ranges and cactus plants. I rode by an extremely ritzy residential area ridden with palm trees and gorgeous ranch houses.
The best part of this new commute was the upgrade to an actual bike lane rather than the sidewalk to which I had grown accustomed. There was a slight incline on the way to work, but it was barely noticeable. Although being seemingly downhill, the ride home was a nightmare. The slightest wind picked up tiny sand particles into the air and caused me to look like this the entire way home:
On days like these, I am going to need to get a pair of sunglasses and/or clear glasses to make the commute more enjoyable. A question to the bike commuters of the desert–how do you cope with winds and desert storms?
I enjoy reading your blog – I got here via Brompton, I am a recent owner as well. I don’t live in a desert climate, but I always wear glasses when I ride, night or day, rain or sun – it’s the only thing that keeps the grit and insects out of my eyes.
Thanks for stopping by! I too used to wear protective eyewear, but I think my eyes became immune to the flying grit. Now that i am tiding in a grittier climate, I just may need to invest in a quality pair of goggles/glasses. Do you recommend any make/model that works well/offers good coverage?
I usually buy glasses with interchangeable lenses (clear and dark) as cheaply as I can, because they only last a year at most; they get scratched up in my bag or I loose a lens – it doesn’t seem worth paying too much.
I notice in your last post you are getting a rack fitted to your Brompton – be aware that it makes the folded bike just a little bit bigger. I can’t fit mine between the seats of a Swiss train – if it didn’t have a rack I am pretty sure it would fit. So it may not squeeze in where you previously managed to squeeze it.
Hmm–good idea on glasses with cheap interchangable lenses.
I had a similar fear that adding a rack would make it possibly too big to fit in the overhead bin of a plane, but I do not plan on flying with it regularly. Clarice will be my client-site bike, and Belle will be my Atlanta bike.
Thanks for that information though. Hopefully, for me, the benefit of stability / ease of rolling will outweigh drawback of the additional bulk.
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