Getting into a fixie by pedaling strange bike on Modesto mayor’s ride

First rule of Bike to Work Day: Don’t corner yourself into riding a bike you’ve never really ridden before.

On Wednesday night, before having to join Ride With the Mayor at 6 a.m. Thursday, I finally got around to checking my long-neglected bike to make sure it was in working order.

I figured all it would need was air in the tires, and was right. Problem was, the rear tire simply would not take any air. Not with a hand pump at home, not with the compressor at the nearest gas station. Must be a valve problem.

So my choices were to cover the ride without actually riding (groan) or use my son’s bike. The 15-year-old is nearly as tall as I am, so bike size was no problem. But – and it’s a big but – the bike is a fixie.

Don’t know the term? A fixie is a fixed-wheel bike, meaning you cannot coast on it. The rear wheel sprocket, the chain and the pedals all move as one, so if you want to slow down, you have one hand brake and must use reverse leg force.

It’s a weird feeling, especially when stopping or starting. I rode his bike only once before, up and down our street a couple of times, and quickly thought, “This isn’t for me.”

Second rule of Bike to Work Day: When riding a strange, new bike, don’t carry a heavy camera bag over your shoulder. There were a couple of times Thursday morning, when starting from a stop, that I was really close to toppling.

The only thing that gave me some comfort was that after stopping to shoot video of the mayor’s group, I had to catch up. Being at the rear had me riding with police officers and paramedics – just the place I wanted to be if I did take a fall.

One of those cops was Sgt. Tom Ciccarelli, whose personal bike is a fixie. He, like most fixie fans, loves the workout you get from riding one but conceded there’s a learning curve to stopping, especially since it’s easy to build up speed on the bikes.

Among a few others bringing up the rear with me was Kathy Kalunian, 67. While most others, including retirees, were wearing shorts and T’s or biking clothes, she was dressed to go to work at the CPA firm Kalunian & Milliken on 13th Street. She was cycling in a blouse, jacket, slacks – and heels. But the occasional cyclist did great, and said she enjoys riding the Virginia Corridor Trail. She said the College Avenue bike lanes are nice and well-marked, but she hasn’t seen them get much use.

Another of the 15 to 20 riders who joined the mayor, city staff members, and those comforting cops and paramedics was Emanuel Radu, 26, a campus supervisor at Hanshaw Middle School in south Modesto.

Radu said he rides to work nearly every school day, a round trip of 16 miles. He loves riding the Virginia Corridor Trail, so he didn’t much like detouring to College Avenue on the Ride With the Mayor. He gets why they did it, though: to show off the new bike lanes created by the “road diet” College underwent.

Radu said he rides for his health. Through exercise, cutting out junk food and making a bet with a friend, he lost 26 pounds in the 32 days that ended May 15.

He’s saving a lot of money by biking, too. He recently sold his Jeep and calculated that between payments, insurance, fuel and maintenance, he’s saving $900 a month. Radu owns a tree service – Cali Grown – so he has a work truck and his wife’s car to fall back on, but, he said, “The days I have to drive, I get upset. I don’t feel as good.”

Bike to Work Days, held in many communities as part of National Bike Month, have the goals of developing cycling as a form of transportation to the workplace, decreasing traffic congestion, improving air quality and promoting safe bicycle commuting.

For those who prefer, or need, to combine public transportation with biking, all buses operated by Modesto Area Express and Stanislaus Regional Transit are equipped with bike racks. No additional fare is required.

Newman had its Bike to Work Day on Tuesday. Escalon’s is Friday, with a celebration from 7 to 8 a.m. at City Hall; Oakdale’s is Tuesday, with a gathering at Oakdale Bicycle Shop at 7 a.m.; and Turlock’s tentatively is set for May 27 at 7 a.m., location to be announced.

For more information, visit www.valleybikecommute.com.

Also as part of National Bike Month, the Family Cycling Festival & Criterium will be held in downtown Modesto on Saturday. I Street, between 10th and 12th streets, will transform into a biking-themed street party with vendor booths, bicycle helmet giveaways, BMX bike demos, races and other festivities.

To learn more, go to www.modestogov.com/pwd/transportation/transit/bikes.asp.

This story was originally published May 19, 2016 at 12:07 PM with the headline "Getting into a fixie by pedaling strange bike on Modesto mayor’s ride."