Overall, I love Google Maps. The maps I create on this blog are all usually from Google Maps. It’s features for letting you create your own maps are user-friendly and the resulting product is graphically appealing and easy to read. It’s an incredibly helpful tool, — overall. Google Maps’ car directions, on the other hand, warrant careful scrutiny. The routes sometimes aren’t the most direct, and sometimes when they are, they take you on a windy country two-lane when there’s a divided four-lane that will get you there faster. In a car, bad directions can be annoying. On a bike, the consequences can be more dire.

With that in mind, I took Google Maps new bike directions for a spin. I like riding from my house in Cary (off Walnut between Crossroads Plaza and Cary Towne Center) to downtown Raleigh. I plugged in my address and that for Memorial Auditorium, and was promptly recommended with a 9.3-mile route estimated to take 56 minutes. A route that in just over a mile put me on one of the more dangerous roads in the area, a 1.6-mile stretch of Buck Jones Road from Nottingham Drive to Jones Franklin Road. For the most part, the road is narrow two-lane with no shoulder, includes two blind curves, is connected to numerous driveways and has an abundance of traffic. To cover the same ground, I take a route that spends a half mile on the four-lane divided (with shoulder) Cary Towne Boulevard, then shortcuts through a neighborhood. My way is faster, shorter and even with Cary Towne Boulevard, much safer.

From Jones Franklin, GM’s route does a good job of getting me through some tricky traffic, utilizing back streets, Beryl Road (a little-used frontage road for Hillsborough Street), and more back streets to get me onto the N.C. State campus. It’s my preferred route as well. But GM leaves campus early, cutting across Dan Allen Drive to a greenway fronting Western Boulevard, a greenway with several driveway and parking lot conflicts. A smarter route would have been to stay on campus and pick up the greenway at Morrill Drive, which hooks up with the Western Boulevard greenway (Rocky Branch, at this point) along a mile or so up the road. The rest of the route — left on South Saunders, then right on South Street to Memorial — is good.

As is often the case with Google Maps for car directions, it’s easy to see how this route was selected; In many ways, it’s the path of least resistance. And while most of the route is good, that 1.6-mile stretch on Buck Jones is ill-advised, even for experienced cyclists.

Eventually, Google Maps intends to have a feature that will allow riders to comment on recommended routes. That will be an invaluable feature in helping to avoid sections such as Buck Jones.

Until that happens, use Google Maps new bike directions feature with caution.

First fare. My first ride, fittingly was Sig Hutchinson, Mr. Mass Transit in the Triangle. Sig, who in addition to being a huge bike advocate is secretary of the Triangle Transit Authority, was crossing Fayetteville Street on his way to a meeting. “I have to be to a meeting in five minutes he said.” I got him there in plenty of time (his meeting was on the opposite side of Fayetteville Street) and managed to catch up on the latest developments in Triangle mass transit. (Story short: The climate is better for mass transit in the Triangle than it’s ever been.)

Love birds. I thought the best part of this job would be getting to ride a bike all day. I was wrong. The best part is the people you meet, people such as Vic and Ginger. I picked Vic and Ginger up on Fayetteville Street, near the courthouse. They were in town from Tampa and had heard about a vintage clothing store that Ginger thought was just off Dawson Street. Turned out to be Father & Son,  run by Friend of GGNC Brian Ownby. On the way over I learned that Vic impersonated the likes of Elvis and Michael Jackson, that Ginger was originally from Gastonia, and that they were crazy in love. After a two-hour shopping spree, I swung back by and took them to the train station. They were a delight; I should have tipped them.

My first fare, Mr. Mass Transit Sig Hutchinson (holding the bag) with Mr. Downtown, Greg Hatem and Mrs. Downtown, Samantha Hatem (a fellow refuge from The New & Observer).

Today’s dilemma. In my day job here at GGNC, I encourage folks to be as active as possible. That includes taking a walk over lunch — especially on the first 70-plus day of the year. So there I was, pedaling through downtown trying to talk people out of walking and riding in my rickshaw.

My shortcoming as a rickshaw driver. No one was more smitten by today’s weather than me: I just wanting to ride, ride, ride. People would wave to me, I’d wave back. Then it occurred to me: Maybe they’re waving because they want a ride. Need to work on that.

Friendliest city in the U.S. I’ve lived here 18 years and I’m still in awe of what a universally friendly place this is. I was reminded of that yet again today by the folks who, understandably, preferred to walk, yet were unfailingly nice and polite in declining a ride.  Made me realize I wouldn’t last an hour doing this in most any other city.

Catching up. Great day for catching up with the old crew from The News & Observer, which is a block off Fayetteville Street and was my employer for 17 years. Thad Ogburn, Joe Neff, Josh Shaffer, John Rottet — good to hear they’re all doing well. (And always entertaining to hear what’s going on behind the gray walls of Raleigh’s gray lady.)

On pedaling a 175-pound bike for six straight hours. It is a lot of fun. It’ll also wear you out (especially when you’re loaded with 300-or-so pounds of people). I forecast an early bedtime this evening.

Like now.

Top photo: These gals were lots of fun.

Today’s my first day as a rickshaw driver.

I’ve waited a year for this day. When I left the N&O last year, I explored an array of options. I wouldn’t mind getting paid to ride a bike, I thought. I contacted Team Radio Shack, but they were full up. Then I saw a rickshaw downtown. That looks like fun, I thought. I’d love to do that. At least until a spot opens up with Team Radio Shack. I applied and waited.

In February, I got the call (e-mail, actually). Sunday, I went through five-hour training with my new employer, Raleigh Rickshaw. I don’t know how rickshaw outfits operate in other cities (well, I do know of one), but these guys are pros. We discussed how to deal with customers, we discussed the proper care and feeding of the bikes, we discussed the rules of the road. Then, before they sent us out on the road they had us pass a cone course in the parking lot behind Raleigh Rickshaw’s downtown depot. Good thing: Riding a tricycle with a rear differential is a whole different sport than riding a two-wheeler. (It’s a physics thing, which I won’t get into because I don’t understand it.) By dusk I was deemed fit to join the 40-plus ranks of Raleigh Rickshaw drivers.

I’m out there to have some fun, to talk to y’all, and to get a workout. The trike itself weighs 165 pounds and it has a load limit of about 400 pounds. It’s pretty easy to hit 550 pounds total with two normal-size adults in tow. And I never realized it before Sunday, but downtown Raleigh is full of hills. Or at least inclines, every one of which you notice when you’re pulling that much weight. Six hours in this saddle is one good workout. (RR owner Donald Mertrud told me he’s burned up to 3,500 calories on a shift.)

So if you’re in downtown or Glenwood South today, give us a ring. It’s supposed to hit 72, the perfect day for a convertible ride through town. And, this is a courtesy ride, there’s no fee. The driver’s are reimbursed through the generosity of your tips, which, I’m guessing, on the first day of the year to top 70 degrees knows no bounds.

The number to call again, 623-5555. That’s 623-5555. And ask for Joe.

Saturday, Hana and I went looking for a bike ride. We found one — and a whole lot more. Here’s a peek at Garner’s new White Deer Park.

Here are five videos I found when the boss wasn’t looking that may inspire you.

“It’s a Mountain Bike Thing,” Vesrah Suzuki Offroad Team, 4 minutes, 11 seconds. This first video comes recommended by Levi Leipheimer and his Team Radio Shack teammate Lance Armstrong. Despite the title, this video isn’t about mountain biking, it’s about North Shore mountain biking, a whole other animal — part singletrack, part flying.

“Beyond Gravity,” Black & White Productions. 49:19. “It all started with mountains and the desire to get to the top,” narrator Greg Child begins in this documentary video that covers mix climbing — some hard rock, some hard ice — sport climbing and more. (GGNC’s favorite is the route called Caveman that, well, that you just have to see to appreciate.

“Rivermen — Kayaking Highlights,” WetVirginia.com. 5:58. Extreme whitewater kayak videos are as common as Class V rapids during fall release on the Gauley. Most are quick clips of a single crazy descent or a dramatic rescue. This is one is a highlight reel of some of the crazy things kayakers do in playboats. Lots of wild drops to be sure, but lots of rodeo tricks — and the occasional dryland stunt — as well.

“Scuba Diving Devils Cave System,” The ScubaGuys, 8:36. Did this once, under north Florida. Probably won’t happen again. If you’re not claustrophobic and hydrophobic, though, enjoy.

Hang Gliding Championships 2006, 3:50. Did this once before as well, at Kitty Hawk. Eager to try it again. Includes the hang gliding culture as well as the dramatic moment of running off a cliff to take off, the grace (usually) of the landing, and the airborne moments in between. A good gateway for other hang gliding videos as well.

Usually, this gem is wedged between “Take the stairs, not the elevator” and “Walk 30 minutes at lunch” on the exercise to-do list. And usually, there’s little supporting evidence about why this is a good thing. You should just do it. Here, to bolster the case for parking in the nether regions of your mall parking lot, is some supporting evidence.

How much of a difference will it really make? I’ve wondered that myself. So I went to the local Target with my trusty pedometer to conduct some field research. First, I sought out the closest open spot to the front door, parked, and set my odometer and walked to the door: 26 steps. Then I got in the car, drove to the far end of the lot where there were spaces aplenty, parked, walked to the front door: 164 steps. Since this would be a roundtrip, that’s 328 steps. That right there is more than 3 percent of your government-recommended total of 10,000 steps per day.

What’s the bottom line (meaning for my bottom)? For some of you, I realize, exercise boils down to one thing: How much weight can I lose? Let’s do some quick math. According to a poll of 3,000 women conducted by GE Money, those 3,000 women made, on average, 301 shopping trips per year. Let’s say that on every one of those trips you parked at the far end of the lot, 164 steps from the front door. That’s 328 steps, 301 times in the course of a year. Assuming you don’t stop at the Target snack bar and snarf a stuffed pretzel and a Coke, that’s 98,728 steps in a year. Using the oft-sited 2,000-steps-per-mile figure, that would be 49.364 miles (let’s just go with 50). And let’s say you’re walking at a fairly brisk 4 mile-per-hour pace (and, for calorie calculator sake, let’s say you weigh 160 pounds): You’d burn 363.6 calories in an hour. In the time it would take you to cover 50 miles (about 12 1/2 hours), you would burn 4,545 calories. Since you need to burn 3,500 calories to lose a pound, you would lose about 1.3 pounds a year simply by parking a the far end of the lot. Granted, 1.3 pounds isn’t a lot, but it’s 1.3 pounds more than you’d burn loitering near the front door for a space.

Besides, there are other reasons to park far from the front door in a crazy shopping center parking lot … .

Another bottom line Numbers on how many accidents occur in parking lots are hard to come by because parking lots typically are private property and public law enforcement agencies have no jurisdiction. Typically, the parties involved exchange insurance information and let the insurers figure out who’s to blame. But you can bet the number of parking lot fender benders is high, especially if you drive an econobox and find yourself backing out between two SUVs or minivans with tinted windows. You’re driving blind, basically. A number that is clear, though, is the cost of fixing fender benders. In a 2008 study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, some of the 20 small cars tested sustained more than $4,000 in damage from impacts ranging from 3 mph to 6 mph. Even the best performer, the Ford Focus, sustained $600 in damage. Park away from the bumper-car action and you’ll reduce your chances of a costly fender bender. And don’t forget those door dings from inconsiderate neighbors, dings that often aren’t worth the time — or expense — to fix.

Caution! Of course while your car may be safer at the far end of the lot, you’ll still have to negotiate the craziness of the lot. According to the National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration, 221 deaths and 14,000 injuries occur annually in “nontraffic backover crashes.”
A few tips for not becoming a backover statistics, from personal experience and from the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center:

• On your approach to the more crowded portion of the lot near the front door, pay attention to people getting into cars. Those cars will soon be pulling out.
• Watch for back-up lights. When they go on, you should go on red alert, either by stopping or maneuvering to a spot where you’re pretty sure the car isn’t going.
• Ditto the above for the sound of an engine coming to life (beware the silent-running Prius) http://blogs.automobilemag.com/6244387/car-news/boy-hit-by-quiet-prius-hybrid-spawns-debate/index.html
• Even at crosswalks, where you have the right of way, do not assume you have the right of way. On foot, you’re no match for a minivan on a mission.
• When dealing with cars, do everything you can to make eye contact with the driver. It’s not that they’re less likely to mow you down because you’ve made a personal connection; Rather, it’s the best way to assure that they’ve seen you and know you’re there.
• Make yourself as visible as possible. Don’t walk in the center of the lane, but do walk a foot or two out from parked vehicles to enhance you’re visibility.
• Do not — do NOT — use your cell phone while walking in the lot.
• Do not — do NOT — plug into your iPod while walking in the lot.
• If you’re with children, hold their hand. Children and older people are more susceptible to getting hit in parking lots, according to the NHTSA. Even if they’re older and claim embarrassment, hold their hand.

Besides, isn’t embarrassing your kids a key part of parenting?

The report examined 40 studies. Average age of participants, 50; 59 percent were women, and on average they worked out three times a week for 42 minutes at a time over a 16-week period. Anxiety symptoms were reduced by 20 percent for those who exercised. That’s especially significant, the report found, because people who are stressed are less likely to follow a prescribed treatment regimen. Read more here.

* * *
Alas, if you want something to be anxious about, try cutting back on your current exercise program. As I was researching Tuesday’s post about exercising more and more and more, I came across another study resulting from the 19-year-long National Runner’s Health Study. This study found that if you exercise and decide to cut back — over the winter, say — that any weight you gain as a result may be more difficult to lose than weight you already had. The phenomenon is particularly problematic for men who run less than 20 miles a week, then take a break, and women who run less than 10 miles a week.

Probably not what you wanted to hear as a colder-than-usual winter comes to a close and you’re contemplating getting active again.

“Wear your helmet if you’re riding a bike,” the governor was quoted as saying as he recovered in in a Denver hospital. “Anybody who rides a bike without a helmet is just nuts.”

That’s point No. 1 for this weekend. With temperatures forecast to climb above 60 throughout much of the state, a lot of folks will be pulling their bikes out of storage and taking a ride. Make sure you pull out your helmet, too. And make doubly sure your kids do — it’s the law for the 16 and under set in North Carolina.

Point No. 2 — A lot of road riders will be banding together and heading out on group rides, if not this weekend, then certainly as the month warms and Daylight Saving Time (mark your calendars: March 14) ramps up the road riding season. What exactly led to the governor’s front wheel touching the rear wheel of the rider in front of him wasn’t disclosed (executive privilege, perhaps). Maybe the lead rider unexpectedly slowed, maybe Bill — I’ll get to why I’m calling him Bill in a minute — accelerated a bit. The point: When you’re riding in a pace line, you need to pay close attention to your fellow riders. A few basic rules on pace line riding from the Florida Bicycle Association:

• Avoid overlapping your front wheel with the rear wheel of the rider in front of you. Any sudden direction or speed change may result in the wheels touching AND YOU WILL GO DOWN.
• Be alert! No matter how good a group is, there will be surprises.
• Avoid using your brakes to slow yourself in a pace line; especially if you are near the front. Control your speed by “soft-pedaling.”
• Rotating the pull. The lead rider takes a short turn in the front, then moves to the left (after checking behind) and drifts to the back of the pack. New riders may be intimidated about maintaining the pace at the front; they should be expected to take a shorter pull and drop back as soon as it is safe to do so.
• Do not ride in aero bars while closely following other riders.

We’ll throw in a reminder here to our multi-use trail users as well. Expect trails where bikers, walkers, runners and equestrians share space (the American Tobacco Trail and Umstead State Park’s bike & bridle trail immediately come to mind) to be especially popular with this weekend’s warmer weather.  To make sure we all get along, remember:

• Mountain bikers yield to both walkers and equestrians
• Hikers yield to equestrians
• Equestrians … hey, they’re riding a half-ton animal that may be skittish around bikers and hikers; cut ‘em some slack.

Above all, be aware of your fellow recreators because a fall like Bill took can happen to anyone. When we were co-captains of the Gateway High School football team in 1974, he never missed a down from being injured. Throughout the various and assorted pursuits we endured together as roommates at Colorado State University (including an ill-advised spin on dirt bikes in the Sangre de Cristos and the Mudbowl, I never remember him so much as getting scratched. Being bright and athletic doesn’t grant you a pass from crashing.

Hope you’re back on the bike soon, governor.

The study Jeff refers to is the latest finding to emerge from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory scientist Paul Williams’ marathon National Runner’s Health Study. Begun in 1991, the study has looked at more than 120,000 runners to examine everything from the effects of alcohol on running to the “unequal benefits of running.” The latest to emerge from the NRHS: the more you run, the less likely you are to have such health problems as heart attacks, strokes, vision problems or arthritis.

Williams’ latest study found that the health benefits of running continue rising for people who run about 50 miles a week. (He suspects benefits rise even more past 50 miles, but there weren’t enough ultra-distance runners in the study to draw a conclusion.) His findings represent 20 years following the same group of runners.

Williams, who reportedly runs 35 miles a week, has been critical of federal recommendations people should get at least 30 minutes of exercise a day, or 150 minutes a week. “Up until recently,” he told the San Francisco Chronicle, “the exercise research has pretty much focused on the couch potatoes. We’ve become fixated on how to get fat people to lose weight. But we shouldn’t be pitching the weight loss and exercise thing only to the obese, sedentary people.”

You won’t get an argument from health officials that 30 minutes a day is indeed a bare minimum, that people really need more (60 minutes is preferable, they say). They’re desperate to encourage any kind of movement in a country whose collective waistline has been expanding for the past few decades. Thirty minutes is better than nothing, they say, and nothing is what they fear they’ll see if they suggest something on the order of running 7 1/2 miles a day.

So, are Jeff’s four trips a week to the gym in vain? Missing from Williams’ report was information on injuries suffered by runners who are racking up 50 miles a week or more. Running, as any runner will tell you, can be hard on the body. Some estimate that as many as 85 percent of runners will suffer an injury in any given year. Even Runner’s World magazine says more than half of runners will get injured. Which is why running programs such as the Galloway program, which touts an injury-free, walk/run approach to ramping up to the big miles are so popular (more than 200,000 runners and walkers have gone through the Galloway program, which focuses on preparing runners for marathons and half marathons).
The situation with cycling is similar. It wasn’t long ago that hard core rec riders preparing for a race talked about piling up “junk” miles — miles pedaled just for the sake of logging miles. Today, training regimens focus on “smart” miles, or occasional days of long mileage interspersed with shorter, interval training days and two days of rest per week. One popular program even suggests riding hard for three weeks, then taking a week off.

You won’t get much debate over the fact that 30 minutes of exercise a day is the bare minimum. But 50 miles of body-jarring running a week? That brings up another currently popular school of thought on exercise: Mix up your workouts.  Do the same thing over and over and your body gets used to it, the benefits diminish. For most of us, logging 50 miles a week doesn’t leave much time for cross training. Further clouding the issue: an emerging cottage industry of 4-minute-a-day workouts.

4 minutes? 30? 60? Two marathons a week?

In short, Jeff, don’t stop going to the gym. Somewhere, there’s a study that says what you’re doing is just right.

Narrow knobbies offer cushion and grip.

(to avoid hitting bumpy things), widely-spaced stays to keep mud from clogging the wheels, cantilever brakes for better stopping and, most noticeably, moderately knobby tires (on roadbike-like 700 cc wheels) for grip. And, because of they carrying involved, they need to be light.
While cyclocross racing has long been a staple in Europe, it’s a relatively recent import to the states. In the last five years it’s enjoyed growing popularity in the North Carolina Cyclo-Cross Series. Though the bike is intended for cyclocross, I’ve noticed them increasingly in non-competitive venues. Last summer, for instance, I was at the start of the weekly Oh Melo Velo ride out of Cary when I noticed something a little different about the bike next to me.
“Cross bike?” I asked.
“I have an extra wheel set that I keep the road tires on,” he said, explaining the presence of the thinner, smooth road tires in place of the knobbies.
Cross bikes are a common sight on the finely crushed gravel bike and bridle trails at Umstead State Park, and they’re regulars on local greenways as well. A few year’s back I wrote about a group of mostly crossbikers who did 40-, 50- and 60-mile rides utilizing the greenways of Raleigh and Cary.
Despite a preponderance of evidence, I’d never tested my thesis that if you could have only one bike (a silly thesis, I admit) it should be a cross bike. Then, late last fall, I ran into my old buddy Curtis Dobbins reviving rides in the bike shop at the Durham REI. “Hey, let me show you something,” he said.

Sweet seat.

Curt, it turned out, was contemplating what to knock off next on his life list: 13 years as a road racer, check; a stint running an outfitting service in Hawaii, check; raise two kids, check. Next to his workstation was the prototype for his next step: A hand-built cross bike, replete with a precision-welded, snow-white frame, SRAM Force drive train, hand-built wheels with flat-blade, aero spokes; Selle San Marco Regal saddle, Campagnolo Record Titanium seatpost and a host of other top-of-the line components well beyond the capabilities of this recreational rider. I drooled. Then I swooned.
“Wanna take it for a test ride?”
I spent this past week doing just that.

I picked up the bike on Tuesday, was short on time, decided to take a quick, get-acquainted spin around the neighborhood. I wound up doing a 23-mile road ride. What I noticed most was how well it climbed: Even with the knobby tires, it cruised up the hillier stretches of High House Road and Cary Parkway.

Sunday was the true test. I put together a route that included road, greenways (Cary’s Black Creek, Raleigh’s Reedy Creek) and off-road (Umstead’s bike and bridle trail).

• Impression No. 1: High-pressure (120 psi) road tires are great for speed, but they pass along every imperfection asphalt can offer. The crossbike’s knobbies (aided perhaps by the high-tech wheels) made for a much smoother, shock-absorbent ride. The knobbies offer more rolling resistance, but the trade-off (especially for my 53-year-old body) was worth it.
• Impression No. 2: The bike may be too fast for the greenway, at least during peak traffic.   I rarely ride the greenways on my road bike, mainly because it’s too fast for the typical greenway’s gentle but frequent turns, turns that are often blind and can reveal walkers and runners with only a moment’s notice. (That’s why most greenways have speed limits — not always posted — of 10 to 15 miles per hour.)
• Impression No. 3: Impression No. 2 aside, those knobby tires are especially welcome on older greenways sporting tree-root speed bumps.
• Impression No. 4: Once a week, I do a training ride on my mountain bike on Umstead’s bike and bridle trails. It’s a long, slow ride, the emphasis on time in the saddle as opposed to getting faster. Sunday’s ride on Maggie (longish story, read last week’s post)  was a revelation. It is, I discovered, possible to accelerate going uphill on a glorified fire road. This is where the bike truly shined. The five-mile stretch of bike & bridle between the Lake Crabtree neighborhood entrance and Trenton Road has some good pulls. The cross bike pulled them with ease. I actually enjoy climbing; I was giddy climbing on this bike.
• Impression No. 5: From the Trenton Road access to Umstead there’s about a two-mile stretch on Reedy Creek Road that’s billed as being bike friendly. In fact, it’s a narrow lane of asphalt with an elevated island; there’s precious little room for a car to pass, let alone an SUV. Thus, your goal is to pedal through this stretch as quickly as possible — and it’s mostly uphill. Fear-induced adrenaline gets some credit here, but again, the cross bike was adept at climbing.
• Impression No. 6: With about five miles to go, I discovered my legs were dead. Never a good discovery with five miles to go, especially unwelcome when you’re battling a stiff, cold crosswind most of the way. A mountain bike or hybrid would have ridden like a tank under such circumstances. While a road bike would have been easier on dead legs, Maggie was kind enough. She got me home without a whine or whimper.

Admittedly, there’s an asterisk with my cross bike experiment. Maggie is a precision, top-of-the line machine. The version I test rode will likely fetch around $5,000 when Curt goes into production. I’ve done enough test rides on nice bikes (including a Serotta that topped out around 10 grand) to realize there is a difference between this bike and it’s $1,000 counterpart.

Still, factoring in the excellence factor, it’s hard to imagine a bike that covers more bases — and in the end, more ride for your buck — than a cross.