It's a hard thing to admit my racing days are over. As much as I loved darting through the downtown alleys and hammering into a bright headwind, the fastest I ride these days is when I'm running late for work.

I suppose that there are really only two types of bicyclists in this world; those that have been hit by a car, and those that will be. For me, I joined the first group a few weeks ago. Granted, it was little more than a love tap on the pannier, but it was very annoying.

Last episode, I promised to tell you the story about my encounter with a low life loser that attacked my bike with a meat cleaver one glorious morning on my work commute.

Every spring, I go through the same perplexing decision: what do I wear to ride in this morning. The reason this is a problem is because it's that time of year. Meaning in the morning...

The first time I fell in love was the summer of 1996. She belonged to a friend, but when he wasn't around we seemed to have a special kind of relationship.

If you're anything like me, and - no offense - you probably are, you've almost hit a cyclist with your car. In warm weather, cyclists swarm like bees or birds, moving together in what they call a "peloton."

According to my calendar, spring officially arrives in a few weeks. According to my thermometer, spring arrived last month.

Doesn't it seem that flats come in cycles (no pun intended)? Sometimes this may be because you failed to find that nail or piece of glass or other rubber invader. Three times on my morning commutes to work in the past few weeks, it has happened to me.

It's nice to be back here, writing again for INDYCOG. I've missed it, the energy and community and forward motion. I'm actually off my bike right now, doctor's orders. I have what's known medically as a "knee effusion," or known more popularly as "water on the knee."

I started bike commuting to work about 25 years ago when I lived in Phoenix, Arizona. Passing through Papago Buttes into Scottsdale, the pedaling combined with the smell of the creosote bush gave me a high that lasted the rest of the day. Back home in Indiana