My friend Carolee Sherwood did this sketch of me on her iPad:

Click for a larger version

NOTE TO CHILDREN: Please do not try riding your bike and playing the saxophone at the same time. I am a trained professional.

Steel Wheel Duo Spokesongs Tour from Joel Landis on Vimeo.

The other evening I was hanging out at Justin’s, a restaurant in Albany that serves good food and is home to many local and national jazz artists. It’s also one of the places my poet friends go after readings.

So there I was with two of those poet friends. We’ll call them Sharon Olds and Anne Sexton to protect their identities. There’s no bike parking at Justin’s or anywhere near it, so I locked my bike, as I always do, to the fence you see on the left side of this photograph:

Photo © Justin’s

We sat inside. I had my back to the window, but Sharon and Anne were on the opposite side of the table looking out the window. As we chatted, Sharon looked out the window and said, “I think someone is touching your bike.”

I turned around and sure enough, there was a guy going through the under-seat bag on my Xtracycle. I hopped up from the table and went outside. A second guy was also there and he turned as I came out.

“Is this your bike?” he asked.

“Yes. What exactly are you doing?”

“We were trying to figure out if it belonged to a customer, otherwise we were going to have it removed,” he replied.

“It belongs to me,” I said, maintaining a fair amount of composure despite wanting to clock the guy with my U-lock.

“Well, we didn’t know that,” said the guy going through my bag.

“You do now,” I said. “Maybe next time you should ask around the restaurant first.”

They seemed miffed, if I can use some strong language. So, Justin’s, here’s my advice: Keep your hands out of my stuff. And get a bike rack.

Looks like Bike Theft Season has started. (Apparently the Albany Bicycle Coalition deleted the article I wrote about locking your bikes. So I’ll just link here, even though I could care less about “bike registry” programs.) Lock your bike.

Last night I was riding to Kickball. (We play every Monday night in Hoffman Park. 6:30. Free.) I’m stopped at the red light on Whitehall, crossing Delaware. There are cars in front of my and behind me. When the light turns green I start moving. Someone behind me starts yelling, “C’mon Pee Wee Herman!”

As usual, I don’t understand these sort of exclamations. I am moving, and I don’t look anything like Pee Wee Herman. Whatever are you screaming about?

Through the intersection we go, him screaming at me the whole way. I do my best to remain calm. He passes me, roaring the engine of his big white SUV. As they go by he calls out “Let’s go Pee Wee Herman!” And the young boy in the back seat is also heckling me. I am saddened that young boys are no longer riding bikes, but mistreating people who riding bikes. It’s like an important part of childhood has been slain by the Great White SUV.

But I let them go. Because I do. But if you’re familiar with Second St over there, you know the red lights can back up traffic. So a block or two later, the offensive SUV is stopped. I do something I normally don’t do. I pass them on the right. I ring my bell as I zip by, and I pass everyone in front of them. I don’t see them again.

What weird things have people called out to you?

Xtracycle … because you never know when you might leave home empty-handed and come back with a ladder.

The other day, I think this would’ve been Tuesday, I had something of an other-worldly experience.

I was out walking, which I do on occasion. I saw a cyclist headed out on New Scotland, riding with traffic, and wearing a helmet. I don’t see that often, so I was a bit shocked. A moment later, another cyclist came up New Scotland in the opposite direction. He was also riding with traffic and wearing a helmet. A few blocks up I saw a cyclist headed West on New Scotland. He had a bright, blinking headlight and a helmet. He was on the left side of the lane, stopped, signaling to make a left turn. Cars in both directions had stopped to let him go. It was stunning. It was beautiful.

So I want to say thank you to all of the cyclists who do NOT ride like jackasses.

My post office box and that of my employer are at a post office a couple miles from my house. The rain was pouring down (and still is), so I decided this would a perfect time to test my new rain gear.

Here’s the pre-ride photo:

Too cool to deal with, right?

I was wearing a t-shirt and shorts under my rain cape and rain pants, along with a pair of Keen sandals, a Walz cap and my helmet. I don’t own a helmet cover, although I may decide to get one.

Anyway, I cruised through the rain on The Packet Boat (my Xtracycle) with no trouble. The cape kept me relatively cool underneath as well as dry, and the pants did the same. Here’s the post-ride photo:

This, by the way, is the cover for the September issue of the Bicycling Magazine Doofuses Of The Road special issue.

And here’s the shirt I was wearing:

Thar he blows!

It’s a bit wet around the collar because I didn’t cinch the collar strap. And the wet spot near my stomach is from the cape brushing against me as I hung it up to dry, not from the rain getting through. My shorts were also dry.

Again, here are the links to the cape and the pants at bicycleclothing.com.

Have you noticed the huge, and seemingly sudden, rise in scooters and mopeds? Wow. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who thought bikes were finally making it into the mainstream. Now it seems like the fad has passed and everyone is riding around on this loud, cartoon motorcycles.

Bob's bike on a trip to Washington, D.C. (Photo by Bob Anderson)

Occasional RocBike contributor and Albany cycling activist Bob Anderson was hit by a car a few days ago. Thankfully, he’s OK — a bit battered, but nothing broken. His bike, on the other hand, which he built up himself, didn’t fare so well. Here is Bob’s post on the Times Union bike blog about his bike and about a whole lot more:

“It IS About The Bike”

I just read this again:

In my opinion, this is a brilliant book about smart urban cycling. Not dogmatic, extremely practical and fun. Highly recommended.

p.s. — Here’s what I wrote the first time I read it.

p.p.s. — And here’s what Julie wrote that inspired me to read it in the first place.

This afternoon, after a ride to Washington Park, I washed my bike. I don’t feel like my washing process is particularly sophisticated. I use dish soap and hot water, and a rag. I am always amazed at how filthy a bike can get in a few weeks. Not just the fenders, but spokes, brakes, and the rear quick release. Ew, gross.

While washing my bike I wondered if something like this would make a good fundraiser. You always see kids holding up signs that say “car wash” (usually in barely legible neon letters) trying to raise money for their sports teams. Would a “bike wash” make any money?

I guess they’re real now…

George Bliss aboard his trike. (Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times)

The story and the accompanying video are here:

Hauling Cargo, No Car Necessary

I went car-free on Wednesday. My back tire went kablooie on Friday. My front tire went kablooie just now. However, they had thousands of miles on them and now I have two new tires. Total cost? Less than $100. WIN!

From today’s post:

[T]o some extent, the American interpretation of “chic” cycling is buying a whole bunch of stuff in order to ride a bike so that you can look like you don’t ride a bike.

This morning, I donated my truck to WMHT-FM, the local classical music station.

I spent a lot of time deciding whether now was the time to be car-free.

Arguments in favor:

• I’m the executive director of the New York Bicycling Coalition.
• I work from home.
• I live in downtown Albany, close to everything.
• I want to be car-free, with all that implies for the environment, my physical health, mental health and finances.
• BP, Iraq, the Middle East, global warming, etc. etc. etc.

Arguments against:

• I sometimes have to travel across New York State for work.
• My wife and kids are temporarily living in a different state.

When I balanced it all out, the outcome was to donate the truck and go car-free. I can travel across the state by train, and with a folding bike I can move around when I get there. (Of course, that means I need a folding bike, but that’s not a large expense, even on my austerity budget.)

As for visiting Jen, Bernie and John, that’s a bit harder because they’re in an out-of-the-way part of Pennsylvania. However, there are mass-transit ways to get there (Greyhound, Amtrak and other bus services). And I can rent a car. And they can visit me using our family’s other car, which is with them in PA.

I’ve lived without a car before. I didn’t have one either time I lived in Japan, and I didn’t use one when we lived in Brooklyn. Of course, those places have much stronger mass transit systems than Albany, but Albany’s isn’t bad. But I was still surprised by just how uncertain I felt as the tow truck pulled away. I’m so conditioned to believe that it’s only possible to live in the USA with a car. And that’s despite my immersion in the cycling world and my general political and environmental beliefs.

And that may be the strongest argument in favor of making the break with my automotive life. This is a time of reinvention and bold moves, a time in my life that calls for change and decisive action.

So here I am at the beginning of a new experience. Wish me luck, and I’ll see you out there!

UPDATE: A few more things about the truck:

It was a gift from my parents, who no longer needed it when they moved from the countryside in upstate New York to Manhattan. Like many gifts, particularly from my family, it came exactly when it was needed.

As you’ll see in the comments my mom made to this post, the red truck has been around for a long time. Since 1997, in fact. It’s hauled its share of wood and done its share of service, a story I tried to tell in a poem called “Red Truck Elegy.”

I like to think that the red truck is going out on top. In the past few weeks it has been called into action at a difficult time and it made that time less trying. And now it will go toward keeping art alive in this little corner of the world. All in all, not a bad existence for a truck.

Bike Snob NYC’s post today had a slew of great videos today. You should go read his post. To make things easy for the RocBike family, though, here are my favorites:

Actor John Leguizamo saves the world:

A rap video about putting your bike on a bus in Louisville, KY:

Auto-tuned cheese from Montreal about their bike-sharing program:

And here’s one starring NYBC board member Claire Nolan (not featured on BSNYC’s site):

…I’m going car-free. (Or, to be technically correct, truck-free.)

Details to follow. Much like the promised details of the sheriff story.

I’ve posted a new poem about bicycling called “this two-wheeled life” over at jasoncrane.org. Enjoy!

“I simply want to celebrate the fact that right near your home, year in and year out, a community college is quietly — and with very little financial encouragement — saving lives and minds. I can’t think of a more efficient, hopeful or egalitarian machine, expect perhaps the bicycle.” Kay Ryan, U.S. Poet Laureate, quoted in Boneshaker, Issue 42-400.

I’ve often been accused of (and sometimes happily pled guilty to) being a Great Lakes bioregional chauvinist. But you still can take my word for it that the north shore of Lake Erie is one of the best chunks of creation, and one of the most pleasant parts of the “sweetwater seas.” And this is especially when you get out in the more remote stretches of road and beach – far from Fort Erie/Buffalo on one end and Windsor/Detroit on the other.

Note the precedence of the Canadian place names in the above. That’s only fair, since all of Erie’s N shore is within Canada, and also because I think that country as well as the Province of Ontario have generally done better by the lake than has the US, which peppered the S shore with more industry and fewer public parks than the lakeshore deserves. Of course, the US side is dominated by an industrial history long as your brawny arm: steel, autos, chemicals, alloys, you name it, in metro areas from Buffalo to Erie, Pa., to Cleveland and Sandusky and Toledo. By contrast, the Ontario shore is a string of small port communities, including Port Colborne at the S end on the Welland Canal, Nanticoke (home to that humongous coal-fired power plant that’s now pumping ozone our way during the heat wave), and Leamington (tomato capital of Canada, and just about the southernmost point of that eminently boreal nation).

Try Long Point Provincial Park when you get the time; it also could be justly be called Long Beach: a truly impressive stretch of bright sand littered with just enough driftwood to be decorative, and something resembling real surf when the wind’s up, as it generally is. The day we were there was refreshingly chilly at waterside; I spent an hour snoozing under some weather-stunted trees that provided just enough shade to keep me from getting cooked under the strong sun. I was a wimp about getting all the way into the cold water – what happened to shallow Lake Erie’s reputation for warming up quickly? Must have been one of those wave-driven temperature inversions.

The region’s got history and social issues, too: my obsessions, in other words, the stuff that always keeps me from having an unalloyed good time. But anyway: legendary liberal Keynesian economist John Kenneth Galbraith grew up in Iona Center, an Essex County hamlet just a stone’s throw from our route. And today, the excesses of globalized capitalism that JKG warned of (and that his son Jamie, of the U of Texas, warns of even more strongly and radically today) have brought many no-doubt-underpaid Latin American workers to the greenhouses that now provide Canada with cheap tomatoes and flowers, etc. Turns out Leamington, a lot closer to post-industrial Detroit that Iona Center ON in more ways than one, has Canada’s highest density of Latinos; we saw many obviously low-income workers getting around the rural roads and village streets by bike. We should have connected more directly with them in a gesture of solidarity, I suppose. But we were perhaps too fixated on heading west for the start of the Social Forum. Such are the contradictions…

I have not been very good about blogging, and this is hardly a post anyway, but it’s good. EcoVelo posts his list of what you need to start commuting by bicycle. I’d say it’s pretty solid. Of particular note: lights. The other night I saw (and I use the word loosely) three young ladies on bikes, at night, with no lights.

July 1, Canada Day – the beginning of the crossborder holiday madness, what with July 4 in the offing stateside. Liz and I and our friends in Waterloo ON are headed for Niagara Falls this morning for a picnic and a farewell as the two of us bike somewhere over the Rainbow Bridge toward the Land of Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace. But it will be good to get home again after two weeks on the road.

My mind is still back in Detroit. Somehow I got more out of the Tent City experience there of solidarity amidst the urban decay-slash-renaissance. Official Detroit is American capitalism writ small – and the smallness is moral as well as geographical. The city has been left to Smith’s invisible hand pretty much, though I’m persuaded after my Michigan visit that, just as Joe Stiglitz says, the hand isn’t invisible, it’s not there at all. The “surplus populations” of the US are being left to rot, and you can see real live human evidence of this every morning, afternoon and night along Woodward and other downtown Detroit arterials.

Case in point: We were having breakfast in a greasy spoon one morning when a woman came by, obviously mentally ill, and took off practically all her clothes, uttered some curses to persons unseen, dressed herself again and went about picking up litter along the sidewalk. When a crew from the restaurant pushed a loaded coffee cart out the front door, probably heading to some catering gig, the woman approached them. In a short drama we watched from inside the place, a drama that obviously has gone through many rehearsals, the guy pushing the cart drove the woman away by spritzing her on the face with what I hope was only water. In a civilized country, women in such distress get real social services that keep them from being “refreshed” in such a manner. Maybe our nation will someday be civilized. But the way things are going, don’t hold your breath (or do hold your breath as you get spritzed politically).

In my next post – after I can mentally break away from the contradictions and conundrums of Detroit – I’ll jump to our biking experience in Southwestern Ontario, specifically the route from Sarnia to Stratford and beyond.

No? Stay tuned. The story involves:

1. An Xtracycle
2. Woods
3. A closed road
4. The aforementioned sheriff

You’re on the edge of your seat, aren’t you?

…is to do the tests on the back of an Xtracycle while someone else pedals! Here I am giving a ride to Chris, one of my classmates:

(Don’t tell the League of American Bicyclists, OK?)

I’m heading to Voorheesville, NY, today for a poetry reading. It looks like it may rain, which is exciting. Why? Because for Father’s Day this year, my parents got me rain gear. I’ve never had any actual rain gear, which means one of two things has always happened to me when it’s rained, either:

1. I got wet.
2. I didn’t ride.

So today I’m hoping for rain. And in case you’re interested, I’ve got this rain cape and these rain pants. I’ll review them if it actually rains.

It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of Bike Snob NYC, the bicycling blogger who regularly skewers that which needs to be skewered and celebrates both the beauty and the absurdity of riding a bicycle.

In recent years, it’s become fairly common for bloggers to publish books, often just slightly modified collections of their blog posts, apparently under the assumption that folks would like to carry the World Wide Web around with them in physical form. Bike Snob: Systematically & Mercilessly Realigning the World of Cycling is something different. And much, much better.

First and foremost, the book tells us what we already suspected: At heart, BSNYC loves, loves, loves cycling. All his potshots and sideswipes and finger-bang-highlighting-posts are nothing more than a long love letter to the bicycle as a vehicle and to bicycling as an activity.

This is actually a book, not just a hard copy of BSNYC’s blog. It flows, it’s beautiful to look at, and every page sings with the joy of riding a bicycle. From a practical point of view, Bike Snob contains possibly the best commentary I’ve read on the perceived-versus-real danger of cycling, and it also contains one of the most intelligent sections on helmets that I’ve read.

Riding my bike reminds me why I love to ride my bike. Bike Snob: Systematically & Mercilessly Realigning the World of Cycling reminds me why it’s important to keep that love alive.

NOTE: I interviewed BSNYC a few years ago. You can listen to that interview here.

Walt Whitman famously wrote of “Blue Ontario’s shore” and just as famously never saw that lake outside of his endlessly colorful imagination – but by the goddess, he should have been biking with us along true-blue Erie’s shore. I’ve never seen the second smallest (in surface area) of the Great Lakes in better hue. It’s a testament to the success of the clean-water laws and programs that were inspired by Lake Erie’s moribund condition forty years ago (some say it was actually dead, except for algae, etc.) and sideshows like the combustion of one of the lake’s most infamous tributaries, the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland.

It’s not just the blue water, though, that makes for beauty. The shoreline between Fort Erie and Point Pelee is verdant, slightly rolling (unlike the back country here, which is quite flat), and festooned with new wineries, apparently prosperous small farms, and patches of hardwoods. hardwoods, including deep-rooted old oaks, were taken down by microbursts and tornadoes recently; the towns around Leamington are still dealing with cleanup, and it’s remarkable how selective the wild winds were: you’ll see a few acres of trees devastated, and acreage nearby almost untouched – hardly a twig torn off.

There are far too many lakeside cottages cluttering up the fringes of beach, but still enough openings to preserve the viewscape, that sometimes underappreciated part of the public domain. Speaking of views, Ontario and regional municipalities here have been installing wind farms at a rapid pace. Parts of the region reminded me on northern Germany, with white-shafted and _bladed windmills dominating the skyline. They look a lot better here than they do, say, in the hilly Southern Tier (NYS) town of Cohocton, where they seem like vertical insults on the ridgelines, and banks of intrusive red warning lights at night. (You might have guessed my support for wind development is qualified.)

One thing’s beyond debate: the Ontario windmills should presage the long-awaited shutdown of coal-fired electric plants like the one at Nanticoke, a major source of ground-level ozone, etc., that plagues a wide swath of points east, including Toronto, Buffalo, Rochester, and the rural areas between. I seem to recall that Toronto now gets more than 100 ozone alert days per year, thanks not just to Nanticoke, but to other obsolete, poisonous coal plants like Huntley in Tonawanda and the Dunkirk plant on Erie’s south shore. So the US is doing its part, too!

Nanticoke is also ugly as sin. What a contrast it makes with so many other features of the north shore.

Next post: I’ll finally get to the US Social Forum and its biking connections – not to mention the eminently bikeable city of Detroit and its eco-transportation potential.

-Jack

(Cross posted at sewgreen These tips may be obvious for experienced bike commuters, which probably describes many Rocbike readers, but I thought I’d share for any newbies reading!)

I was so busy sweating and churning (aka pedaling) that I neglected to report daily or even weekly on our BikeIt group’s westward progress. But here it is in a bunch of nutshells.
If you haven’t ridden the canal trail from Rochester to Lockport, do it asap. 70 miles of absolute flat – not even a lock to break up the elevation – but great for cruising, unless you hit a big headwind. (Way out west they call the wind Mariah; in Western New York, we call it lots of other names, unless it’s at our back.) The group had a couple flats, but generally it was an easy go. I bypassed the beautiful, historic Lockport high locks, but after 70 miles I was ready to get to pt. B as fast as possible. We took Bear Ridge Rd. down to Tonawanda Ck. Rd. N., where I checked out my Uncle Ed and Aunt Eleanor’s old place (childhood memories aplenty) and told Liz a bit of family lore as we rode. Then came the Buffalo Riverwalk, starting in the city of Tonawanda – about 12 miles along the great Niagara River (some call it a strait, but never mind) to the Queen City. The next day we crossed the Peace Bridge with minimal bureaucratic delay, then found the lakeside trail that leads west from Fort Erie – natural bliss again, though I have to emphasize my love for Buffalo and its bikeability.
More later…

Here I am a at usual destination on a Spula-style bike-trip: a bar. Yes, sipping a pint of local pale ale lubricates the blogging process better than teflon oil does a drivetrain. The bar, as luck would have it, is around the corner from the BiketIt tent city, and folks here are very positive about the Social Forum, and attitude not universally reflected in the local media (the ironically-named Detroit Free Press recently published an extended insult by some local columnist, who referred to, among other things, the aromatic quality of Social Forum participants – and he wasn’t talking about Chanel No. 5. But the low-income neighbors here off Woodward, the main arterial, are more welcoming; I’ve had several good conversations at the fence with folks who are trying to weather the economic storms that have hit southern Michigan especially hard. Today is check-in day the Forum itself – I realize now I don’t have the right armband to get back into Tent City tonight – so I gotta rush down to the extravagantly capacious Cobo Center and get my credentials. The tent city is definitely a work in progress: showers going in (solar, of course), more tents going up on plots reclaimed by mulch infill. Quite a project – and even the Detroit MSM are taking notice! More later, Rocbikers… The Forum officially kicks off in an hour or so, and I’ve still gotta find a shower and a clean shirt.
-Jack, from Motor City

A message from the New York State Bicycling Coalition and the Tri-State Transportation Campaign:

(June 21, 2010) — In Albany, bicycling advocates are working overtime to help assure the passage of a Complete Streets law—sweeping legislation that will create more livable, bikeable and walkable communities across the state. This proposed law would direct the state Department of Transportation to consider bicycle and pedestrian accommodations in the planning and development of state, county, and local roads and other transportation facilities. NYBC is working closing with the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, AARP and other groups to get this legislation passed.

On June 17, the Senate passed the bill 53-3. Unfortunately, Assemblyman David Gantt of Rochester has amended the Assembly version of the bill in a way that would render the legislation useless in its impact.

The only way to get this process back on track is if we can get bicycling advocates — particularly those in Rochester, where Assembly Gantt is based — to make their voices heard!

Visit NYBC’s Take Action! page to learn how you can help secure the passage of this bill.

That’s the updated version of the old Erie Canal song text: today most of the traffic is bikers, walkers, etc. on the towpath. And among the bikers yesterday was our stalwart BikeIt crew, headed to Buffalo via Lockport (and soon on to Detroit). It was great getting to know this energetic crew from Ithaca, Binghamton, and other Upstate locales – though as usual, I’ve been slow in learning everybody’s name. There are old folks like me, a couple of pre-teens, and a large group in between, and different levels of experience on a bike, to match. We did get strung our along the 90-mile route we chose (I mean strung out geographically, not emotionally), but the ride, under the capable facilitatorship of Claire Stoscheck, kept together pretty well. Luckily, the infamous west wind, which of ten makes the westernportion of the canal trail a challenge if you’re going in the “wrong” direction, was gentle yesterday, though the sun was strong. I was hoping to see much wildlife, but not a single water snake or migrating snapping turtle crosse my path. Nary a heron – but lots on Canada geese – and two chipmunks. Maybe other riders had more good fortune in this department. We had pleasant stops, too, for snacks and conversations with support vehicle drivers. Just flat tires – one of them mine. I stopped in Tonawanda at Dick’s bike shop (not to be confused with megastore of similar name) and got a replacement tire before the next flat could arrive. Lesson to all- make sure your wheels and tires are in mint condition before you leave on a 400-miler. Well, more later… We’re working with the Massachusetts Ave. Project in the city of Buffalo today (check them out online), then off to the Peace Bridge and beyond tomorrow. Here I can take the opportunity, too, to thank my brother Richard, who lives very strategically near the bridge entrance – great to be cloase to family members (emotionally as well as geographically)!

I’ve written about Boneshaker: A Bicycling Almanac before. This past week I had the pleasure of finishing my second issue. Definitely interested in more.

The Practical Bicyclist’s Handbook, the Basic Field and Street Manual for Utilitarian Riding, features

• Farming By Bicycle
• Riding in Cleveland and Pittsburgh
• Bamboo Bicycles
• Bicycles, Women, & The Vintage Posters Bearing Them Both
• Two Gears Better Than One
• Bicycle Lights
• Shame & Guilt On The Commute
• and a bunch of other stuff worth reading.

Boneshaker is available from Wolverine Farm Publishing for $6.

BEYOND THE MOTOR CITY
A Documentary Film about the past and future of transportation.
June 28, 2010 @ 7:00 pm Free Screening

Presented by the Rochester Regional Community Design Center
and Empire State Future.

The Dryden Theater at the George Eastman House
900 East Avenue, Rochester, NY 14607

Dear RocBike and friends: I’ve been away from the site for so long, you must think I was uploaded to a UFO. Well, that’s close; I’ve had some health issues to contend with, but those are now under control pretty much. More to the point, I’ve got an announcement: Liz and I and hopefully thousands of others are biking to Detroit next week in prep for the US Social Forum to be held there the following week. Liz and I will be joining a group that’s starting in Ithaca and eventually will be among the proud residents of a massive Bike Tent City in the erstwhile Motor City – and hopefully will be plugged into many an interesting event. I plan to concentrate on – cue the drums, please – bike transportation. Anyway, I’ll also be blogging (and posting to rocbike) as we make our way to Buffalo and across the Ontario Panhandle to Windsor and Detroit and (somehow) back. Hope the posts will be edifying, etc., etc. See y’all online very soon. And check out BikeIt.org as well as the USSF site for details – or maybe you’ve already done so (as I said, I’ve been UFO’ing more than surfing the last months). Take care!
-Jack

The other day I was complimented on my sneakers.

(Too bad we don’t have a “style” category.)

Can anyone recommend an inexpensive* folding bike?

*When I say inexpensive, I want you to think cheap. And then think even cheaper than that.

I promise this site is not going to become NYBC central, but I wanted to let you know that the New York Bicycling Coalition is now on Facebook and Twitter. Please “like” us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

The links:

• NYBC’s Facebook page
• NYBC’s Twitter page

Thanks!

Today is my first day as executive director of the New York Bicycling Coalition. Check out the press release and lots of other cycling information at NYBC.net.

By the way, are you a member of NYBC? Why not join today?

Over at The Best American Poetry blog, Stacey Harwood recounts her rekindled appreciation for the bicycle as transportation..

And on the same blog, Gabrielle Calvocoressi talks about bike racing terminology and the Italian scene.

Why are these posts on a poetry site? Why not?

…until the new gig!

“The bicycle, the bicycle surely, should always be the vehicle of novelists and poets.” — Christopher Morley

…and everyone else, too!

Be there at 5:30! More information here.

I was photographed and interviewed for a Times Union article, which you can read here.

Today’s Times Union newspaper contains a great article about Bike To Work day that features not one, but two members of Team RocBike — Ethan Georgi and Bob Anderson. Congrats, guys, and thanks for making riding your bike to work look like a perfectly normal thing to do. Way to go!

Photo of Ethan Georgi by Skip Dickstein / Times Union

Cyclists save by pedaling to work
Wheeling commuters combine savings with health benefits

By TIM O’BRIEN, Staff writer
First published in print: Saturday, May 22, 2010

For Ethan Georgi, every day is Ride Your Bike to Work day.

The Web developer for Zone 5, an Albany public relations firm, rides his bicycle a little over three miles to his job.

“It’s fun to ride a bike instead of sitting in traffic,” he said. “I don’t care about gas prices. I like exploring the city.”

Friday was National Ride Your Bike to Work day, an effort to try to get people to cut down on gas-guzzling cars and take a more leisurely way to get to work. To support the effort, CDTA offered free rides to bicyclists who put their bikes on racks on the buses.

Georgi said he originally began riding to his office two years ago. He used to come home to get out his bike for a ride after work. One day it dawned on him he could combine his commute and his daily exercise.

Read the rest of the article.

An Xtracycle canopy. Learn more.

Public Workshop Invitation for Off-Road Bicycling

From Larry Staub, Director of County Parks

Help us draft and design a pilot program for
off-road bicycling in Monroe County Parks.

Pilot sites to be located at
Tryon Park and Irondequoit Bay Park West

ALL ARE WELCOME!

MONDAY, MAY 24 at 6:00 pm

Dolomite Lodge (located behind Penfield Town Hall)
3100 Atlantic Avenue, Penfield, NY 14526

fog on the Normanskill
mist clouds my glasses
two wheels through this May morning

…that in a couple weeks my job is going to involve riding my bike around, talking about bikes and advocating for bikes?

…this is the first time I’ve ever been on television?

(Anybody who can tell me the origin of that second line gets a free jazz CD. Leave your guess in the comments.)

Rather than bicycling as many miles as my age, like I did two years ago, I celebrated with a trip to the Albright Knox Museum and surrounding neighborhood in Buffalo, NY, where I saw the above church sign.

I got this beautiful piece of pottery made by my friend and wonderful artist Vicki Hartman. You should go to her website where you can see a better picture than my dark image.

And the great bumper sticker from my partner, which really says it all. You can buy one yourself at Talking Leaves Books, or online at stickergiant.com.

p.s. When in Buffalo, I always like to stop by Campus WheelWorks bike shop. They had some really great-looking cruisers from Felt which I lusted after from afar.

Over on EcoVelo, Alan has a really nice little article about thinking about bicycling as more than a sport.

Like most people in the U.S., I spent a good portion of my adult life thinking of bicycling as a sport. Even during a long period when I rode my bicycle to work everyday, I was concerned with things like personal bests, total miles logged, and target heart rates… Somewhere along the way, I went through a mental shift that resulted in my viewing the bicycle primarily as a tool for transportation.

Definitely good stuff.

I’m very excited to announce that, starting June 1, I’ll be the new executive director of the New York Bicycling Coalition. I’m looking forward to heading out across the state to make New York a better place for cyclists. And I’ll be looking for YOUR help. More to come…

I was having a conversation with someone yesterday, and talk turned to my love of bicycling.

“Road or mountain?” the person asked.

“Urban,” I said.

Their reaction was much the same as if I’d said “jello” or “anti-gravity.” The idea of bicycling as something I do to get around, rather than something I need to plan for as a sporting outing, still seems foreign to a lot of people. And, of course, the best way to change that is for me to keep riding around the city. Consider it done.

Love. It.

Rochester Cycling Alliance : Rochester Bike Week 2010
The Rochester Cycling Alliance (RCA) was formed in September, 2009 to advocate for better bicycling infrastructure and a stronger voice for cyclists in Rochester and Monroe County, NY. The calendar of Bike Week events at the RCA site; www.rochestercyclingalliance.org

Click the image to see a larger version, if you dare.

Left to right: My mom, Sally; my younger son, John; and me on The Packet Boat on the way to watch my older son play baseball.

I am really offended that every time cycling gets into the local news, there is an automatic burst of “get the hell out of the street.”

STOP THE HATE.

Really. Of all the things you could be angry about, like our infantile politicians, you’re angry at people on bicycles?

So go watch this. Seriously, I’ll wait.

Nice, huh? I like that it’s not some rich dude in his super hero kit on a carbon fiber bike. It’s not some young punk in cargo shorts on a mountain bike. It’s just fun.

Thank Cog.

The statewide initiative to enact a safe passing law for cyclists is stalled in the state Assembly’s Transportation Committee. We need your help to convince Transportation Committee Chairman David Gantt to allow the bill to move forward.

The bill would require drivers to give cyclists a three-foot buffer when passing. Gantt’s staff maintains we don’t need to enumerate the distance. They say a bill requiring that motorists pass at a “safe distance” would suffice.

But requiring a “safe distance” for passing is too ambiguous and does not provide a clear point of reference for the driving public. The bill emerged last fall after Greenburgh resident Merrill Cassell was sideswiped by a Beeline bus on Route 119 and killed when the bus ran over him.

The bill – A10697 – is patterned after laws in 15 states, which require the three-foot buffer. The latest to enact the three-foot law is Mississippi. Others are Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah, and Wisconsin. Similar laws have been proposed in nine other states.

We need to let Gantt know that the cycling community wants the three-foot passing law.

The main purpose of the law is to educate the public about how far is a safe distance to pass bicyclists. Many motorists believe that just avoiding contact with a cyclist is required. Many motorists are unaware of the danger of passing a cyclist too closely. It can result in hitting the cyclist, or startling the cyclist and resulting in a crash to avoid the car.

Law enforcement officials in states where the law is in place say it has been an effective educational tool. It gives officers, government officials and civic groups the opportunity to inform motorists of the safe distance.

You can email Gantt at GanttD@assembly.state.ny.us
You can call his office at 518-455-5606
You can fax a letter to 518-455-5419
You can send a letter to Assemblyman Gantt at
LOB 830
Albany, NY 12248
518-455-5606

Thank you for your support.
Richard DeSarra
New York Bicycling Coalition and Rochester Bicycling Club

It’s a rainy day in Rochester, and except for a quick trip to the UU church for services today, I haven’t braved the gray day.

I’m a new contributer, though I’ve been around for a while. I moved to Rochester about 18 months ago and have been riding full time for about a year. I have to say, I love Rochester, and I love seeing more folks out on their bikes again. Winter is a tough time for year-rounders, and I’m happy that spring is finally here.

This past week, I went to a fantastic Earth Day talk about Transition Towns at First Unitarian. Transition Town is a UK movement that has made its way to the US. With an emphasis on eliminating our oil dependency, the movement encourages communities to work together on innovative alternatives to non-reusable energy sources, as well as creating more connected relationships within those communities. The Transition focuses on several areas of sustainability, including food, water, and transport, to inspire communities to come together and create systems that are sustainable and conducive to a healthy environment. It really is an inspiring model, and one that I hope Rochestarians will soon adopt.

To say that this movement relates to cycling communities is a severe understatement. I think that the more we do to encourage bike-friendly community structures and discourage the use of motor vehicles, the better prepared we will be for this pending oil apocalypse. At the very least, eliminating your personal dependence on oil reduces your financial vulnerability to the waves of price hikes and, presumably, gas shortages and/or rationing. I’m very interested in learning more about this movement. And also, I was so happy to see so many groups congregated together to learn more and to share their work with one another. Coalition-building is an important step towards effective change.

I’m so glad to be a part of a small group of folks who believe in the future of bicycles. Whether you use it to commute to work, grab a bite to eat with your best friend, or run out to the grocery store, your bike is a revolutionary tool, and it is creating change each time you hop on. So thanks for riding. And thanks for writing…

(This is the Frederick B. Douglass/Susan B. Anthony bridge, over the Genesee River in Rochester, New York.)

I usually don’t cycle in groups; I’m more of a laid-back/commuting/put-the-dog-on-the-bike-and-chill kind of cyclist. But, I’m a sucker for a good cause, and raising money for college scholarships for students in need, as a part of our college’s festivities celebrating the inauguration of our fifth (and first woman) president, Anne M. Kress was a good enough cause for me.

Here is Dr. Kress thanking us and sending us off. She later noted that her spring cardigan wasn’t exactly appropriate for the 40 degree weather. (She is still adjusting to our Northeastern climate after moving here from Florida. Most people move the reverse direction, that’s for sure!)

This is the indomitable Susan, who was the chair of our committee and my compatriot in composting (we worked hard to ensure that all the waste from the day’s luncheon and reception was composted, and that’s another story altogether).

We visited all 4 of the college’s sites, first stopping at the Applied Technology Center. We had a police escort along this section, which is a heavily traveled road. I felt very important! Actually, I was the ride leader, so I really was grateful for the help.

We followed a map developed by Karen and Brian of the Rochester Bicycling Club. Most of the ride took us along many of Rochester’s finest trails.

This is the Public Safety Training Facility, which has a bike trail running right behind it. This was my first time leading a ride, and there were some much stronger cyclists than me on the ride, so right about now I was feeling a bit stressed. So I took off like a bat out of hell after this, and had to be reminded to slow down, since this was supposed to be a fun ride for cyclists of all levels!

Between the Applied Technology Center and this shot, we were on trails the whole time. That’s actually when we passed the bridge shown in the top photo. When we got downtown, they were doing some construction we hadn’t expected, but fortunately we were able to get through. Here’s the campus where I work, right in downtown Rochester.

On the way back, the wind started to get me. I never really thought about the fact that the leader takes all the wind. So, once we were back on the trail and it was just a straight shot, a couple of other people got ahead and I just relaxed for a bit.

And finally, back to the largest campus, just in time to change for the rest of the day’s events!

I tend to find riding in a group a bit stressful, so I’m not quite sure what possessed me to agree to actually lead this ride, other than enthusiasm for the event and my usual not-quite-realistic optimism about life in general. However, this was such a supportive and laid-back group that I really had a wonderful time.

The ride also made me really appreciate the network of trails that we have in this city. The streets still aren’t great, in my view, for cycling, but they’re not awful either. And the trails are just so beautiful. From my neighborhood, I could quite easily bike commute to any of the MCC campuses, to RIT, University of Rochester, St. John Fisher, and Nazareth (and their surrounding areas), much of it on trails.

Although I’m not as familiar with these areas: Irondequoit, Browncroft/Winton neighborhood, and Northeast Rochester, I suspect that it’s not quite as easy to commute, but I know people who do it (include some RocBike readers).

I’m curious to hear what you like and don’t like about bike commuting in Rochester, so let me know in the comments!

Meanwhile, I’m not sure if I’ll be leading a ride again any time soon. But the dog and I will be out on the trails; you can count on that!

I don’t think I’ve mentioned this here, but my first book of poetry, Unexpected Sunlight, will be out soon from FootHills Publishing. You can read my work at jasoncrane.org.

Here’s a poem I wrote this week based on a bike ride:

“North Greenbush To Albany”

1. catch your breath
2. unzip your wind breaker
3. make sure the pocket with your keys is zipped closed
4. check that nothing has fallen off your bike
5. say “hello” to other cyclists
6. look at the flowers
7. look at the clouds and the blue sky
8. memorize the names of the streets
9. take a picture
10. count the drivers talking on cell phones
11. wait patiently

Easter Sunday I was in Burlington with my family, on the Bikeway. Albany could learn a lot from them.

First, let me say that the waterfront is beautiful. Lots of grass and open space. People having fun. I saw people barefoot in the grass. Would never see this in Albany, where there is broken glass and garbage everywhere, whether it’s paved or not. In Burlington there are things to do on the waterfront, places to eat, places to shop.

I saw every kind of bike on the path. Girls in sun dresses on beach cruisers. Young guys on racing bikes. Kids on mountain bikes. I saw tandems. I saw whole families biking together. People were nice. There was a skate park with skaters and kids on bmx bikes doing tricks. I saw a bike polo game getting started. The only thing I didn’t see was a tall bike.

The bike path is clean and well maintained. There are maps every few miles. I saw things painted on the trail that said “cycle the city.” I could not help but think, this is what biking in Albany could be like.

i rode through the park
/ morning sun on dew on grass
/ / things motorists miss

The New York Times has revealed the identity of Bike Snob NYC.

You can listen to an interview I did with BSNYC back in November 2007. Can you believe it’s been that long?

There’s a really great write up, with lots of lovely pictures, of the latest Tweed Ride in Sacramento over on EcoVelo. I’ve said before that I’d like to do something like this in Albany. I need
a) a nice tweed jacket and
b) people who are interested.

As someone who spends all day in front of a computer, I found this article wonderful.

That bike in the garage or basement has been collecting dust and spider webs for how long? What about the closet or shelf containing all those unused, not needed, parts or accessories? Give it up!

R Community Bikes could recycle that equipment that would benefit those that need new wheels, a bell or horn, cables for brake or derailleur, whatever.

You don’t know about the best bicycle community service organization in the world!
Read on.

R Community Bikes is a grassroots, 501(c)3 organization that collects and repairs used bicycles for distribution, free of charge, to Rochester, NY’s most needy children and adults. Our mission is meeting the basic transportation needs of those in the community who depend on bikes for recreation as well as for transport to work, school, rehabilitation programs, and training sessions. For this segment of the population, both quality of life and the ability to participate in our community are greatly enhanced when our mission is achieved. R Community Bikes also provides a venue for the Rochester bicycling community to conduct educational programs relative to bicycle safety and maintenance.

R Community BikesWe are open to the public on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 9:30 am to 1:00 pm at our warehouse at 226 Hudson Ave. (at the intersection with Woodbury Street). In addition, on Wednesdays in the summer we conduct bike repairs at St. Joseph’s House of Hospitality at 402 South Avenue.

We welcome donations of bikes, bike parts, tools and money to cover expenses such as spare parts. We are always in need of volunteers to serve as mechanics and a variety of other positions. We provide the necessary training. http://www.rcommunitybikes.net/

‘I now have a fairly clutter free basement and more room on the shelves to store the latest bicycle gadgets,’ says Richard DeSarra

Wish I could hold the images and sounds from this morning’s ride

The Canada geese honking on the Genesee River

The statue in front of Bausch & Lomb as I turned the corner

St. Mary’s Church to my left

The dead pigeon on the side of the road, only partially flattened

The throng of people at the bus stop at Main and Clinton

Everyone in line for coffee and donuts as I wheel into the building

Got a lot of laughs out of this, this morning.

We’re looking at some wonderful weather this week. Be nice, ride your bike, ring your bell.

A commuter’s perspective on bike lanes in the city of Albany.

I think this picture pretty much sums it up.

This was taken a few weeks ago on Clinton Ave, headed up hill. This is one of the “new” bike lanes they put down in the fall of last year. The paint is pretty messed up and cars use it like a right turn lane.

The other “new” bike lane they put down, the sharrows on Washington Ave, was covered by snow most of the winter.

I appreciate the new riding spaces. I use them daily. I think Albany could do a lot to make the city more bike friendly by clearing/cleaning the WHOLE street, from curb to curb. If half of the sharrow paint is covered by snow, it’s not helping anyone to have put it there. If the bike lane is filled with broken glasses and potholes, it’s not helping anyone to have put it there. If the WHOLE street, curb to curb, was clean, you could actually ride in the street- whether there were marked lanes or not.

Word is they intend to make more bike lanes. Which is a great thing. But if they aren’t going to be kept clean and clear, this is going to be an ineffective gesture. If the lanes become invisible due to paint loss after a few months, this will be a complete waste of time. Please Albany, let’s do this right.

This is great. I like the video. I like the message. People For Bikes: Why Do You Ride?

(via EcoVelo)

Hot word on the streets is that directions from Google Maps can now be tailored for bicycling, in addition to walking, public transport, and car. So I checked it out.

It’s directions for my morning commute take me down Lark. Which is interesting since Lark has all those annoying cobblestone intersections. And buses. So I’m not 100% sold on it.

But this is a step in the right direction. Thank you, Google!

(Also thanks to Commute By Bike and Cyclelicious)

This isn’t strictly a bicycling story, but I think it’s a smart way to get more folks out of their cars and onto buses, and to make life a little easier for people who always ride the bus.

Price Chopper AdvantEdge now benefits those who take bus

ALBANY — Participants in Price Chopper’s AdvantEdge customer loyalty program will now find it costs less to take the bus.

Officials from Price Chopper’s owner, the Golub Corp., and from the Capital District Transportation Authority said this morning that the discounts offered on purchases of Sunoco gasoline will now be offered to purchasers of CDTA prepaid bus passes as well.

For every $50 spent on groceries, participants will get $2 off the price of a prepaid pass. The discount is offered on 10-ride, 31-day rolling, and STAR Swiper cards.

“We think it’s the first such arrangement in the country … where a regional supermarket partners with a regional transit authority” to promote taking the bus, said CDTA Executive Director Carm Basile. “Price Chopper has put riding buses on the same level playing field as driving your car.”

Read the rest of the article.

…and really for most of 2009, too, but who’s counting?

From today’s Times Union newspaper in Albany:

Q: Will there be any provision for bicyclists on the new Route 7 bridge crossing Interstate 87? Unfortunately, I already suspect that there will be none as in many of the recent upgrades. If not, then my next question is how would cyclists cross Interstate 87?

Finally, I understand that DOT holds a number of planning meetings and presentations to the public for upcoming projects. How would the general public and bicycle advocacy groups be aware of these meetings ahead of time?

– Rob Russell, Delmar

A: Good news. Bicyclists and pedestrians were indeed taken into account in preparing for the new bridge, said Peter Van Keuren, spokesman for the state Department of Transportation.

And you can learn more about it this very night. A public open house will be held at 6 p.m. today at Forts Ferry Elementary School, 95 Forts Ferry Road in Latham.

“As with most of our projects, we look closely at existing pedestrian and bicycle operations and accommodations to discern if improvements are needed,” Van Keuren said. The exception, of course, is on interstate roads where walking and biking are not allowed.

In designing the new Northway Exit 6, he said, accommodating walkers and bicyclists was a high priority.

Read the rest of the article.

Part of one of the gifts I got for Christmas was a copy of Boneshaker: A Bicycling Almanac. It was a joy to read.

It begins with the following, from the editors:
“Bicycling, not bicycles, because it’s an action and a purpose and a way to move and move and move.”

It goes on to be filled with lots of little short pieces. Interviews, poetry, book reviews, an advice column, thoughts one commuting by bike down south, and some excerpts from touring cyclists.

It’s a little book, it fits in your pocket so you can take it anyway. It’s rugged. It’s printed in elegant type. Highly enjoyable.

Bike Week Volunteer Orientation Meeting
Presented by Rochester Cycling Alliance, www.rochestercyclingalliance.org.

When: Wednesday March 10 @ 7 – 9 p.m.
Where: Genesee Waterways Center Boathouse at Genesee Valley Park
DIRECTIONS: http://geneseewaterways.org/directions_gwc.htm.

A meeting for anyone interested in helping out with the RCA’s many planned events for Bike Week, May 21-28 2010. Learn about the RCA, the events planned, and how you can help.

Survived another ride home in the snow, so I thought I’d offer some “tips.”

Before:
Waterproof. Lights. Don’t over-layer or you’ll sweat inside. Do not let drivers psyche you out.

During:
Go slow. Take it easy. This is not a race. Focus on keeping your bike straight and your breathing even.

Don’t be afraid to take the lane. In fact, take the lane. Trying to ride in the crap at the side of the street is often dangerous. You’re better off holding up the cars behind you.

Pull over every once in a while. This lets the cars get on their way (which, admittedly, it often not very much faster than you were going anyway). More importantly, it gives you a chance to catch your breath, shake the snow off yourself, and appreciate the winter.

Signal your turns. You do that anyway, right?

Be aware of (lazy) drivers who do not clear the snow from their cars. Many of them cannot see out their snow covered windows and will not see you. This applies to cars already on the road, but also cars pulling out of parking spaces. Refrain from yelling into their open windows as you pass by- you need to stay focused on the street ahead of you.

Side streets that don’t see a lot of traffic are nice because there are not a lot of cars on them. But they don’t get plowed as quickly, either.

After:
Get the snow off your bike. A rag is a good thing. Take a hot shower.

This looks heavenly. I’d definitely like to do some sort of tweed ride and pizza run this spring/summer. I need to get myself a nice tweed jacket. (Yard sale season is coming.)

Riding home through the “snow.”

First, let me say that I did not have my studded tires on. I will blame the weather people for that. For weeks they’ve been saying “omg blizzard we’re all going to die” and I’ll put on my snow tires. And then it won’t snow. At all. And then I have to take the tires off again. Which means I’ve wasted two hours of my life because somebody on tv lied to me. Sigh. So this time I called their bluff and did not put my snow tires on. More on this later.

I did have waterproof clothes and a ton of lights.

So we start from the bottom of Orange Street, which wasn’t bad. It was less than an inch of snow, really. After a block I turn right and climb a steep but short hill that is all snow. My back tire is slipping but I keep it upright and make it to the top to wait for the light. Studded tires would’ve been nice here, but the hill was short so…

The light turns green and I go left up Clinton. The conditions here are slush-tacular. The bike lane is at least visible, if not clear, and I easily pedal my way up the hill. At one point I think to myself “all you haters can eat my slushy wake” and then remind myself to breathe and pay attention.

I take a left on Lake, which is pretty clear. I cross Central and then take a right on Brandon. Brandon is a little one way street with no traffic. I go two blocks in peace, slowly cruising through the coating of snow and trying to enjoy what winter there is.

Left on Ontario. I have to pull over to let a bunch of cars by. No biggie. The first part of Ontario is a mess, in my opinion. It looked like they plowed it, but all they had really done with turn snow and slush into a layer of ice. I wasn’t having any problem with it, taking it slow and steady, keeping my bike straight and moving forward without any sudden movements. Cars, on the other hand, were not having as good a time as I was. Tires spinning all over the place.

The second part of Ontario, which would be after Madison, had some nice wide patches of fresh snow, so I stuck to that. Downhill past the Playdium, slowly, letting the hurried drivers go do whatever it is they’re in such a hurry to do.

Right on New Scotland I pick up a set of tire tracks. This is like one cyclist unintentionally leaving a long greeting in the snow. New Scotland is pretty heavily trafficked so it was clear enough. I took a left near Sycamore, and so did the tire tracks I was following. Those were some skinny tires.

My neighbor said “doesn’t matter what the weather is, you’re on your bike.” I replied, “hell yeah. This is the most fun I’ve had in a week.” And then I banked up the driveway. Strangely enough, the driveway had 3 inches of fresh powder in it.

A really enjoyable ride. There were only two or three spots I thought my studded tires would’ve been nice, but I didn’t regret calling the Weather Channel’s bluff this time. It was also nice to have an excuse to ride slowly, and just enjoy riding my bike, and enjoy winter.

Today, with gray skies and whatever it is they are passing off as snow, I am thinking about this.

It’s actually snowing in Albany. Did you ride your bike today? I did.

I’m a big fan of pandas. Not the bear that eats the least nutritious kind of bamboo it can find and will not breed to save it’s species. Panda portraits. The Flickr group says

Why are these called “pandas?” Well, ya see, there’s this rad chick who goes by the name faster panda kill kill. She takes rad self-portraits while riding her bike. They are so rad, in fact, that a group was formed to record similar self-portraits cuz, really, just about anyone who has a camera and rides bikes also takes these self-portraits.

Here are some examples

Here are some, done by other people, that I really like

Check out the Flickr group, get out your camera, and have some fun!

A prospective Xtracycle buyer asked the following on the Roots Radicals group (an email list of Xtracycle owners & fellow travellers):

So I’ve got a bike and I’m thinking of getting the Free Radical extension. I’ve got a seven year old and other kid-carrying options aren’t working that great (outgrew the trailer, trail-a-bike is awfully shaky). This xtracycle thing seems like a pretty great solution. However, I only have the kid and/or cargo about half the time. Is it easy to take off the long tail and make it a regular bike and then back again when you need it? Do you just ride the long tail with nothing in it? Do you have two bikes? — Karen

The responses are great (read them here) — and all in favor of just riding the X all the time. I agree. Well, maybe I’ll do this year’s Livestrong Challenge on something else…

This is a good read. Funny and true. And I’ll second Jarred Walker‘s favorite:

9) It’s just as fun as when you were a kid. You go zoom! and whoosh! You’re a sky creature, not a miserable earth-crawler. And you get to the end of your commute feeling invigorated and intensely alive.

‘Nuff said.

I got this photo from here based on a link from here.

The Albany Times Union newspaper ran this piece today:

Online sleuthing reunites stolen bike and owner

By JORDAN CARLEO-EVANGELIST, Staff writer
Last updated: 1:46 p.m., Friday, January 29, 2010

ALBANY — By rights, Wesley Leubner’s mountain bike should have been gone for good.

Stolen when his Hudson Avenue apartment was burglarized 18 months ago, the $1,200 Cannondale F600 could have been anywhere by now.

“For six months he was scouring all the want ads,” said Detective James Miller, a police spokesman. The 24-year-old former college student’s exhaustive search of local bike shops yielded only similar disappointment.

But then — in further testament to the ubiquitousness of Craigslist — there it was this week, in all its mango orange glory, for sale at the deeply discounted price of $250.

Read the rest of the story.

So the other day I roll up the driveway, home from work, and prop The Bastard Son of The Frost Giant King against the garage while I turn off the lights. This guy comes up the driveway on foot asking if I have a minute. High on endorphins, I say “sure.”

He’s from the cable company. I tell him we don’t watch much tv and he can understand that doubling what we pay for cable doesn’t make a lot of sense. Then he says, “one more question, where do I go to get a real man’s bike?”

To be honest, the first thing I thought of was something you’d see bombing around London in the 1920s. But I guess that’s just me. I must’ve looked confused, so he explained, “you know, you go to Toys R Us and they have ladies bikes and kids bikes. Where do I get a real man’s bike?”

Ah.

We had some conversation about getting what you pay for. I explained that I paid $500 for my bike when it was new, which may sound like a lot of money to someone who buys a bike at Toys R Us, but I’ve had it for almost a decade. It’s my winter commuter and I put it through hell. It’s worth buying a real bike.

I told him to go to Downtube, because that’s my local bike shop and I’m loyal. I also told him about Klarsfeld’s way up Central. He knew where they were, but it had never occurred to him to go there. I said, “yeah, if you go to a real bike shop, you’ll get a real bike.” He laughed and said thanks.

A week later, I still feel good about helping someone who wanted a good bike.

Bike Shop Girl has some great goals for this year. I’ve decided to take her list and tell you what I’m doing about each (today, if not recently).

Learn how to properly lock your bike
Pretty sure I’m on top of this. I have a u-lock and I make an effort to lock both my rear tire AND the frame to something secure.
Start a Commuter Challenge
Sorry to say, probably not going to happen. Although, when Bike To Work Day comes around, we’ll see what happens.
Motivate a co-worker to commute by bike
A guy I work with just bought a single-speed and is looking forward to commuting. If I’m allowed to say so, he’s a little jealous of me.
Join your local advocacy group
What local advocacy group?
Take photos to inspire others and yourself
Do this all the time and love it. A post on this topic is forthcoming.
Setup a commuter zone
That would be the back hallway of my apartment. It’s dirty and smells bad. ha hah.
Practice preventative maintenance
Seriously. I was supposed to check the tired pressure yesterday, but forgot. Will do it tonight. After this rain, the bike is also going to need a little wipe down.
Invest in your gear
Loving the waterproof stuff I got for Christmas. Have new panniers I can’t wait to try out. Lights, warm clothes, they are worth every penny.

Also in the news is this story about how Albany County purchased a stretch of unused railroad to convert it to a bike/etc trail.

The 9.3-mile stretch of the old Delaware & Hudson Railway right of way runs from the Port of Albany to Voorheesville.

Way to go, Albany!

Today’s Times Union newspaper published this story:

CDTA bike plan racks up fans
Authority begins initiative to place bicycle racks throughout Capital Region

By ERIC ANDERSON BUSINESS EDITOR
First published in print: Friday, January 22, 2010

ALBANY — Downtown Albany has perhaps a dozen bicycle racks. But a new effort by the Capital District Transportation Authority could make parking your bicycle far easier.

The CDTA, in conjunction with the Capital District Transportation Committee, is seeking to place bike racks throughout the Capital Region. The racks would be free to public and nonprofit sectors, while private sector businesses and employers would be eligible for a 50 percent subsidy.

“The Capital Region Bike Rack Program works hand in hand with the goals of public transportation: improving our quality of life and reducing single occupancy vehicle commutes,” said CDTA Chairman David Stackrow. “Businesses have the opportunity to expand their client base and improve customer satisfaction by providing close and convenient bicycle parking.”

Read the rest of the story.

(Be sure to read Part 1 before you read this post. It may not help, but it probably won’t hurt.)

An elevation map of the completed portion of our ride.

It doesn’t look all that bad when you map out the elevation on the graph above. A few hundred feet of climbing, a couple 4% and 5% grades, but not too bad.

Oh wait, I forgot that there were 400+ pounds of Rotarians on one bike. That’s why it was so hard.

The plan was a simple one: Keep the gears low. Have the SAG wagon stop every couple miles and wait for us to pass. Take a break whenever necessary. Don’t fall of the bike, get crushed by a tractor trailer or keel over from the exertion. No problem, right?

We rode and climbed and rode and climbed. A few miles along, there was our SAG wagon. Pren gave us the mileage count (there was no computer on the bike) and we kept going. We had enough air in our lungs to chat most of the time, and we told each other about our careers, our families, and why we would never, ever, ever, ever, ever volunteer for anything at Rotary ever again. Ever. Really.

Bill and me, smiling through our tears.

You know how when you have a really nice bike seat that’s like a couch cushion and you’ve been riding it for years and then you switch to a hard bike seat with no cushy properties at all and your rear end really hurts? No? Well I do. The seat on the tandem was apparently an unpadded piece of steel, possibly studded with spikes. I neglected to wear padded cycling shorts under my clothes. I never do, because the seat on my Xtracycle is so comfortable that I could bike naked if I wasn’t afraid Marlin Perkins would be overhead in a helicopter with a dart gun.

This bike seat, though, would have been better suited to transporting prisoners during the Spanish Inquisition. A few miles on this thing and they’d be converting to Catholicism faster than you can say, “Fetch the comfy chair!” I could go only a couple miles at a time before I had to stand up and stretch my … um … whatever it is that stretches down there.

Bill, meanwhile, had seat issues of his own. His seat wasn’t actually screwed tightly onto the bike, and it was constantly shifting position, forcing Bill to hang on for dear life like a rodeo rider on a bucking bronco. To Bill’s credit, he never said a word about it. Hey wait a minute — he kept offering to switch seats. Biiiillllllll! (Picture me shaking my fist.)

Another few miles, more hills, Pren in the SAG wagon. Nine miles (halfway there), more hills, Pren in the SAG wagon. Twelve miles, more hills, no Pren, but he must be just up ahead. Thirteen miles, more hills … uh … where’s Pren, exactly? I’m sure we’ll see him over the next hill. Nope. Maybe the next one. Nope. Maybe–

What’s that noise?

At about 13 miles we heard a sharp metallic pinging sound, followed immediately by a rubbing sound. (Excuse all the technical language.) I don’t know about other physical activities, but those sounds usually don’t accompany successful cycling trips. We hopped off the bike to see what was what, but we didn’t spot anything. I thought it might be the rear brake, which I’d had to disconnect and then reconnect when we changed the tire at the gas station back in Part 1. Soon, though, Bill figured it out: We’d broken a spoke and the wheel was becoming less round than is ideal for a wheel. The rubbing sound was caused by the now elliptical wheel wobbling into the brake pads.

I don’t know how well you know Bill and I, but although we’re renowned for our looks, charm, virility and spring-fresh scents, we are not, apparently, known for our brains. “What the heck,” quoth we in beautiful harmony, “it’s only six more miles. And we’ve got no tools! And our SAG wagon is missing! Let’s do it!”

We were entering East Greenbush, which meant a long downhill into the town of Rensselaer before we crossed the Hudson River and reached Albany. Bill suggested we go slowly down the hill, using only the front brake and the gears to control our speed. I did my best. We made it gently down the first hill and up the next.

Well, we made it most of the way up the next hill. At about 14 miles into the trip, we heard, and I quote:

Hisssssssssssss…

I’m sure you’re way ahead of me here, but unless you’ve brought a snake on your bike ride, hissing ain’t great. The wheel, which had been rapidly deteriorating, finally got to the point where it pinched the tube, which popped, letting out the air in our rear tire.

We pulled into the first driveway we came to — a Burger King. We had no means of repairing the bike, and no SAG wagon. Even better, as I might have mentioned earlier, Bill didn’t have the cell phone number of the SAG wagon driver, so we had no way to contact him. Nor did we have any idea where he was. “Maybe he went on to the auction without us,” we thought.

We sat in a booth in the Burger King, where I put on a paper crown while we tried to figure out what to do next. I used Bill’s cell phone to call my wife, but she wasn’t home. While I was calling her, I noticed that the phone was nearly dead. Bill said he’d charged it fully before we left. We hadn’t reckoned on the cold, though, which must have sapped the battery. We probably had enough charge for one more phone call.

It was then that Bill remembered that he had the number for Wolfert’s Roost Country Club, where our fellow Rotarians were having lunch and the auction at that very moment. Also at the meeting was Greg, who had brought his pickup truck for the express purpose of delivering the tandem bike to the winning bidder after the auction. Bill called the Roost, the Roost found Greg, Greg found us, and all was well.

As we crammed into the cab of Greg’s truck, we inquired about the health and safety of our SAG wagon driver. “He’s in the buffet line at the Roost,” Greg said. Ah.

Within a few minutes we were at the club, where we entered to thundering applause. We auctioned off the bike (and many other items) to raise more than $5,000 for various international projects, including ShelterBox, clean water projects, and Rotary’s nearly complete effort to eradicate polio from the face of the planet.

In the days since our ride, Bill and I have received even more money than was pledged to us, which will enable the club to buy a third Shelter Box.

Richard, who won the bike, discovered that in addition to the broken spoke, we’d also bent the axle of the rear wheel. He had it repaired and all is well. He will now be tormenting his teenage daughter by making her ride tandem with him.

My rear end has recovered, and Bill and I are already planning our next adventure. It will probably involve bikes. And maybe weight loss. And definitely cushier seats.

First, some background points that will help make the story clearer:

1. I’m a member of Rotary, and specifically a member of the Rotary Club of Albany. I love Rotary, not least because being a Rotary exchange student in 1991-92 completely changed my life and led to most of what I’ve done since. I also appreciate the way my membership and activity in Rotary helps me have a positive impact in my own community and around the world.
2. Rotary is involved with an organization called ShelterBox, an international disaster relief charity that delivers emergency shelter, warmth and dignity to people affected by disaster worldwide. It’s an incredible organization, and you should give them some money if you can, and maybe see if your workplace or school would be interested in sponsoring a box. Right now, they’re on the ground in Haiti providing immediate shelter:
   

3. This year, the Rotary Club of Albany gave approximately $2,400 to ShelterBox from the 2008 edition of our annual auction. That’s enough to buy 2.4 boxes.

And so, the story:

At a Rotary meeting several weeks ago, Charlotte, the president of our club, announced that she had a tandem bike to donate to the 2009 auction. The bike was used by two people during the Cycling The Erie Canal event. These two folks rode the tandem from Buffalo to Albany. When they got to Albany, Rotarians from my club were there to give all the riders rides to their hotels or to the train station. The tandem crew surprised the volunteers by donating their tandem bike for use at our auction. Cool, right?

So now this bike was at Charlotte’s house, and she didn’t have a way to get it the 16 miles to Albany. Either my fellow Rotarian Bill Corbett or I — I’m not sure who gets the blame — suggested that we should ride it. (You make recognize Bill’s name because he’s contributed to RocBike in the past.) I chimed in to say that we should be paid for doing so through charitable donations toward the auction proceeds. Everyone in the room agreed to pay us $16 each ($1/mile) if we rode the bike from Niverville to Albany. We agreed. It was on.

The auction was supposed to happen in December, but a blizzard ended up canceling our meeting, and we rescheduled for January 6. Bill and I met that morning at Wolfert’s Roost Country Club, where we hold our meetings. Another Rotarian gave us a ride to Niverville to get the bike. That person was also going to serve as our SAG wagon in case any problems occurred.

It’s at this point that I would like to make note of one difference between drivers and cyclists. Our club president, who drives from her house to the meeting, told us it was 16 miles. It’s actually 19.4 miles. That doesn’t mean much when you’re driving, but when you’re riding in 20-degree weather up big hills, those extra miles count. And no, 19.4 miles isn’t that far. Bill and I have both ridden farther than that on many occasions. (See here and here for the tale of my most recent long ride, which was also a fundraiser.) But it’s far enough, as you’ll see.

Our first mistake occurred in Charlotte’s kitchen. Pren, our SAG driver, got Bill’s phone number and put it in his cell phone. Then he asked Bill a question that would resonate later on: “Do you want my number?” Bill replied: “No, I’m not going to be calling you.” Foreshadowing, anyone?



Bill and me with the bike in the garage

We encountered the next problem as soon as we looked at the bike — the rear tire was flat. We already knew this, though, so Bill had brought a pump. As it turns out, this was the only useful item either of us had brought along. All of the other useful things that became necessary later on? Not so much.

Bill pumped up the tire, we said our goodbyes, handed over the life insurance paperwork, and prepared to ride to Albany. We got as far as the end of the driveway before the rear tire was flat again. Luckily, the donors of the bike had also donated two brand new tubes. So we got out our tire levers and–

Oh wait, we didn’t have any tire levers. Nor did we have a wrench to take the wheel off. As it turned out, neither did Charlotte or her husband Paul. Not to worry, though, down the road about a half-mile was a gas station. Off we went, pushing the bike. Surely, even in this day and age, a gas station would have a wrench or two, right?

Wrong. The gas station attendant had a screwdriver large enough for a sword fight, but no wrenches. As it turns out, though, the cycling gods were with us, because there in the gas station parking lot was a Snap-On Tools truck. Yes, a truck with every kind of wrench and useful implement known to man was parked at the out-of-the-way country gas station to which we happened to push the bike. Within a few minutes we had the tire changed and inflated and we were pedalling toward Albany.

It was cold that day. Very cold. And windy. Very windy. And I made what can only be classified as a rookie mistake. Having never ridden a tandem before, I told Bill that he could choose his seat — front or rear. He chose the back because, as it turns out, he’s not an idiot. He knew that it would be much nicer to have a very large guy blocking the wind for 20 miles than to be the windshield. (In his defense, he did offer to switch after several miles, but by that time I had warmed to the role and was enjoying being in front. That decision also saved me from the blame for … well, I’m getting ahead of the story.)

In the next installment: 400+ pounds is heavy … we climb and we climb … the SAG driver and the buffet line … axle me no questions and I’ll tell you no lies … we meet the Burger King and obtain his crown … and more!

READ PART 2

The New York Times ran a piece today on bicycle clubs of yore. Here’s the intro:

The Bittersweet History of Bike Clubs
By J. DAVID GOODMAN

Neither snow, nor sleet, nor bone-chilling cold can keep the members of New York’s assorted recreational bicycle clubs from the swift — or, often, leisurely — completion of their appointed rides around and out of the city. The New York Cycle Club, the Five Borough Bicycle Club and Fast and Fab, a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender bike club, are some of those that lead outings and other events year round. And while none of these was around at the turn of the last century, each traces its lineage back to the ubiquitous clubs that dominated the earliest years of cycling.

In the 1880s and 1890s, growing middle-class participation in cycling lead to the formation of hundreds of clubs across the United States. The first to form was the Boston Bicycle Club, created on Feb. 11, 1878. The following February saw a club formed in Buffalo, and the first New York City club came in 1880, also in February (something about the cold seemed to drive riders to associate in those days, perhaps for the warmth of the pack).

Read the rest of the article.

This so-called winter has not been bad for commuting by bike. I’ve only taken the bus on two days, and that was because my mountain bike was in the shop. I thought I’d share some thoughts.

I see winter riding in three big areas: weather, darkness, and traction.

Weather. It’s cold. Dress warmly. The question I get most often is “aren’t you cold?” I reply that I have four layers on and they seem shocked, like it never occurred to them to dress appropriately. Sometimes thermal long-johns under my pants. Warm socks. I bought a little hat that fits under my helmet to keep my ears and head warm, and sometimes, when it’s really bad, I wear a fleece hood. I have some awesome lobster gloves that keep my hands warm. The thing to remember is that your body temperature will increase as you ride.

Snow? Or, in our case, rain? Waterproof clothing is the bomb. I was gifted a pair of waterproof overpants and they are perfect. They don’t have any kind of lining, they go on quickly over my pants, and they keep my pants from getting soaked. It is not fun to be cold and wet, and it’s worse when your wet clothing starts to freeze. This is the voice of experience talking, here.

The only thing I haven’t figured out how to beat, yet, is the wind.

Darkness. It’s dark on the ride in, and it’s really dark on the ride home. The answer? Lights. This winter I’ve been running three different lights on the back, one of which is on my messenger bag. They all flash different patterns. On the front I have two lights, one which flashes and one which is steady. And my monkeylectric lights.

I’m sure I look ridiculous. But at least drivers can see me. It’s so frustrating to see people riding around in black coats with no lights. I can’t even see them. Lights are cheap, people. Get some.

Traction. In the fall I ordered a wicked pair of studded tires, so I’ve been itching to use them all winter. They are really great… when there is snow and ice on the road. They dig right in and I’m not worried about sliding or spinning out, even when braking.

But all we’ve been getting is rain. Monday morning the “big snow storm” was all slush. Running the studded tires on bare pavement is a pain in the arse. They are heavy and slow. Climbing hills will kill you. And the studs are starting to show signs of wear. So it’s worth spending the time swapping them out.

I’ve enjoyed riding this winter. How’ve you been doing?

The Times Union ran a story today about new trail markings that will link two parks in Schenectady:

Bike trail to link Schenectady parks
New 4.7-mile section will plug gap in biking path

SCHENECTADY — The county will soon embark on more than $2 million worth of new biking trail improvements that will plug a hole in the Mohawk Hudson Bike/Hike Trail and will link the city’s Vale and Central parks.

The state Canal Corporation is overseeing a $1.7 million new section of the Mohawk Hudson trail that will link the path’s end at the city’s Stockade section with another piece that ends at Balltown Road in Niskayuna.

The new 4.7 mile section will be marked on existing roadway with signage from North Jay Street to Union College, and then a narrower, off-road trail that runs parallel with the Mohawk River will be widened and provided with better drainage.

Read the rest of the story.

It’s probably been about a year since I have posted on rocbike, so here’s a collection of the fun group rides I did in 2009.

In March I headed up to Monson, MA to join up with fellow ratrod bikers for a swap meet and cruise. Monson kinda sucked for cruising so we packed up and went across the border to Willamantic, CT, where we had lunch and continued to ride.

full photo set here

In June I was on vacation so I ended up bringing one of my custom vintage bikes up to Rochester to join up with the old cruising crew, with a lot of new faces since I left town. One of the nights we went way out on the canal trail.

full photo set here

There’s a few local guys that go on custom vintage rides in downtown Hartford, so that happened at least a few times this summer.

June:

full photo set here

August:

full photo set here

Also in August, a few of us joined up in New London for a custom-vintage ride.

full photo set here

In September, I was back on vacation, and I did a tour of NY state, starting with a stop in NYC. Me and my friend Otto cruised from Queens to Brooklyn.

full photo set here

After NYC I was back up in ROC for two more days of cruising with the ROC cruise crew.

Wednesday:

full photo set here

Thursday – we rode up the Genesee river trail to the pier at Charlotte:

full photo set here

And the last group ride I did this past year, a custom-vintage cruise in New Haven, in October:

full photo set here

Hoping that 2010 is as full of fun bike rides! Happy New Year!

It’s not specific to cycling, but some RocBike readers may be interested in my post today at HandCraftedLife on reasons to get out and be active despite the weather.

Today’s edition of the Albany Times Union newspaper includes a Q&A about the adoption of the Albany Bicycle Master Plan.

CYCLING: Rochester: an emerging world-class cycling spot
By Jeremy Moule on December 16, 2009 City Newspaper

Read the article on Rochester Cycling Alliance blog; http://rochestercyclingalliance.blogspot.com/.

Or on City Newspaper‘s web site:

http://www.rochestercitynewspaper.com/news/articles/2009/12/CYCLING-Rochester-an-emerging-world-class-cycling-spot/.

Democracy Now! is covering every day of the climate summit in Copenhagen. The segment below features Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper and Damon Moglen, who works on global warming for Greenpeace. I’m posting it here because midway through, Hickenlooper talks about bicycling in Copenhagen. He mentions that 30+% of the population commutes by bike now, and the city’s target is 50%.

The fine folks at Xtracycle just finished a video contest to find the best video about their new PeaPod LT child seat. Here’s the winning video:

not big enough b/w fixed from Kate Oshea on Vimeo.

More videos are available at the Xtracycle site.

Lake Ontario State Parkway
Multi-use Trail Project
Ribbon-cutting Ceremony

Thursday, Dec. 3 at 10:30 a.m.

At the trail head on Island Cottage Rd
RAIN LOCATION: Robach Community Center (Bathhouse)
180 Beach Avenue in Charlotte

Directions: (See map.)
Take Route 390 North to Latta Road (Exit #26)
Turn right onto Latta Rd.
Turn left onto Island Cottage Road.
Go past Janes Road and park on the shoulder.
Use the crosswalk to get to the ceremony site by the pond.

For more info:
NYS Department of Transportation
Lori Maher
585.272.4818

I’ve written before about visiting Canada, in the previous case, Toronto. Recently I took a trip to Montreal and was very inspired by all the bike commuters. People, if they can bike commute in Montreal and Toronto, we can certainly do it! Well, at least in terms of the weather. What those cities have, however, that we do not, is infrastructure.

For one thing, they have BIXI’s!. I love these. I love how they look, and I hopped on one and loved how it rode as well. Just one speed, very sturdy, and with a cute little front basket. And fenders.

You can buy a year’s subscription for $78 (although the season ends November 30…okay, I guess the weather gets to them, too). Or, you can use a credit card to rent on a less frequent basis. And, the first half hour is free. There are many stations everywhere (they’re the red dots on the map), so I can imagine that you could bike from station to station, picking up and returning at each station, and not pay anything, and get all around the city.

They also have bike lanes, which are separated from the roadway by a narrow median. One morning I went out running and all you could see down the road on the bike lanes was cyclist after cyclist going to work. Unfortunately, I didn’t have my camera with me, but it was really an inspiring sight.

And so, I came home inspired! I have been bike commuting more than ever, including this route, with a stop at the University of Rochester both to and from.

The only minor challenge was dealing with clothing issues. I have to be dressed professionally at work, and I work up a sweat quickly. My solution was to wear black pants that look professional but are comfortable to ride in, then I just had to pop into a bathroom to change shirts and shoes. If we had more of a bike commuting culture, I can imagine it would be more acceptable to come to work a bit more casually, but I don’t think we’re there yet!

Ah, well, I could always move to Canada. (Hey, I’d get free health care too!)

This is the
Frederick Douglass Susan B. Anthony Memorial Bridge, named after two famous Rochesterians. I find it beautiful every day, but especially today with the frost on the ground.

And this is another view, looking towards downtown.

On this crisp morning, I feel incredibly blessed to bike to work.

WOW! It’s been a while! Jason and I did the Livestrong ride in Philly.

And then the summer just took off. I apologize for the lack of posts,
I rarely maintain my own blog, let alone the Bicycle Coalition blog.                                                  Then I was invited to do a rotating post on the Times Union blog.
Well, since I know most of the other bloggers,
and it only requires two posts a month, I think I can handle that, maybe.

Here it is.
Enjoy, link, and leave feedback or comments.
And I’ll try to not be such a stranger
(even though I do stop in everyday).

http://blog.timesunion.com/bike/the-cycling-dead/125/

***ACTION ALERT***
NYSDOT Proposing Widespread Use of Rumble Strips on Secondary Highways, Posing New Hazards to Bicyclists

Contact NYSDOT and Your Legislators—Urge NYSDOT Not to Jeopardize the Safety of Its Roadway Users!
CURRENT NYSDOT POLICY: Do not install rumble strips on secondary roads except in rare instances
PROPOSED NYSDOT POLICY: Installation of rumble strips will be the preferred practice in the design of all secondary roads with a few exceptions

RUMBLE STRIPS are a well-documented hazard to bicyclists. Accepted practice nationwide dictates that rumble strips be used only sparingly on roads permitting cycling

NYSDOT is proposing an Engineering Instruction (EI), titled “Secondary Highway Audible Roadway Delineators – Guidance and Policy,” which is at variance with the practices recommended by the Federal Highway Administration, The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, and other standards setting agencies. Such national agencies generally recommend if rumble strips to be used on two-lane roads if there is a documented run-off-the road accident problem—and then, used only as a last resort due to the hazards they may create for other roadway users, including bicyclists.

Contact NYSDOT and your legislators to urge NYSDOT to not issue the proposed policy. Ask them to work with groups, such as the New York Bicycling Coalition, organizers of bicycling tours and events, and local cycling clubs to construct a less hostile policy that better balances the needs of motorist and bicyclist safety.

BACKGROUND: Rumble strips, as illustrated, are audible roadway delineators or indentations in the shoulder pavement that make sound when a car runs over them at high speeds. While an important safety tool used to prevent run-offs on high-speed Interstates and other limited access highways, they are a well-documented hazard to individuals on bicycles and should be used only sparingly on roads permitting cycling. NYSDOT is proposing to replace current stated policy — not have rumble strips on secondary roads except in rare instances — with a new one declaring “installation of shoulder rumble strips to be the preferred practice in the design of all secondary highways” with a few exceptions.

In short, the proposal would have NYSDOT install rumble strips (with certain exceptions) on secondary roadways throughout New York State, compromising bicyclists’ safety and the quality of riding surfaces on thousands of miles otherwise scenic roadways. National practice is to have rumble strips nowhere with some exceptions on secondary roadways. By taking the opposite tack, NYSDOT’s policy promiscuously promotes rumble strips, going far beyond what is seen as efficient deployment. Aside from the policy’s cost implications, it is unwise. It means rumble strips in urban areas, creating or adding to the din. It means rumble strips on roads with speeds too low to generate sound. Rumble strips also mean higher maintenance costs for the taxpayer. And, of course, they pose a danger to cyclists by causing spills, erratic avoidance maneuvers, or causing them to avoid the shoulder and ride mingled in automobile traffic.

A check of other states with such secondary highway policies shows they require an accident analysis be done before such rumble strip use; the proposed NYSDOT policy does not. Other states specify where rumble strips are used, have at least 5 feet of paved shoulder between them and any guardrail; the proposed NYSDOT policy does not. Other states say not to even consider rumble strips unless there are high speeds and high traffic volumes: while the proposed NYSDOT policy does have speed and volume thresholds, they are considerably lower than those of any other state. There are dozens of other such examples in this EI where the proposed policy varies from generally accepted practice.

Action Alert from NYBC (Continued)

Contact NYSDOT and your legislators to urge NYSDOT to not issue the proposed policy TODAY. Call, write, or email (or utilize all 3 methods of communication) your Assembly Member, State Senator and the Commissioner of Transportation.

WHO REPRESENTS ME?

Prefer to mail?
Simply send a postcard (28¢ each at your nearest US Post Office) to your legislators and the Commissioner. For an investment of 84¢, you have the ability to improve bicycling throughout New York State, including in your village, town or city. Or, if easier, just stuff a copy of this notice in an envelope (adding personal comments if you wish) and mail (44¢ postage) it off to the Commissioner and elected representatives..

WHO REPRESENTS ME?

Who’s my Assemblyperson?
Click here to search by Zip Code http://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/

Who’s my NYS Senator?
Click here to search by Zip Code http://www.nysenate.gov/senators

At the above sites, clicking on the highlighted names will bring you directly to the legislator’s official website where you may make comments.

How to contact NYSDOT:
Website: Click here to email NYSDOT https://www.nysdot.gov/about-nysdot/contact
Or write: Commissioner Stanley Gee
NYS Department of Transportation
50 Wolf Rd.
Albany, NY 12232

About the New York Bicycling Coalition
The New York Bicycling Coalition is dedicated to preserving New York State’s wide and smoothly paved shoulder network as an important asset for use by the State’s residents (bicyclists and pedestrians) as well as visiting cyclists. Since 1992, the New York Bicycling Coalition (NYBC) has served as the only statewide, not-for-profit organization of its kind advocating various “Share the Road” education and safety initiatives on behalf of both cyclists and motorists, while working to assure highway, street, and transit facilities are amenable to bicyclists and pedestrians. Support Our Efforts to Increase Bicycling and Pedestrian Safety and Access Today by joining online: http://www.nybc.net/donate

We’re nearing the time of the year when I gave up bike commuting for the season last year. It wasn’t intentional, I just… sorta… stopped. The last ride that I wrote about was November 6 last fall.

I think it all happened around the time change. I definitely have issues this time of year getting motivated as it gets darker. I probably have that SAD thing to some degree. Who knows… but maybe I’m just saying that. Maybe that’s just my excuse.

For some reason I get creeped out riding alone in the dark at the end of the day, though it doesn’t bother me at all in the morning. Maybe it’s just quieter in the morning. I feel like I’m alone in the morning. In the evening I feel like just can’t see what’s out there. I don’t like taking the shortcuts through the woods or riding on the canal path in the dark. I feel safer taking my chance with the cars.

Am I afraid of the dark? What kind of a giant wimp am I?

I don’t want to quit riding for the season… I want to keep going through the winter. I guess I just need to find new routes that I’m comfortable with and maybe some bike mounted weaponry.

I used to take a martial arts class… maybe I could just ride around with a bokken strapped across my back to make me look crazy. Maybe I could just wave it around insanely when I’m taking a sketchy shortcut. It is my personal believe that looking crazy is a good form of self defense.

Thanks to Utility Cycling for the link

Tow Truckin’ from Xtracycle on Vimeo.

Richard already mentioned this earlier this month, but I wanted to remind our Rochester readers that RIT Center for Student Innovation is holding a Rochester Cycling Summit this Saturday October 24th. The group ride starts downtown at the Central Library at 11am!

I arrived at work this morning & on checking my email discovered the following:

Hi Jody –

XXXXXX confirmed that the kitty-litter panniers are yours ….. could we have a bake sale to raise funds for new panniers for you? LOL!

Best,
XXXXXX

I’ll grant you that they’re not beautiful, but they are very functional. They are waterproof and made from recycled materials. I was kind of proud of my kitty litter panniers. And they were VERY cheap. I think they cost less than $10 in materials. I think they’re going to be great for the crappy weather, once there’s salt and grime on the road. I can just hose these off occasionally. They are also very high visibility, esp with the big reflectors on there.

I confess that I am a huge fan of bike hacks, which is where I got the idea. I love crazy MacGyvered solutions. I figure the panniers also make my bike less appealing to bike thieves, not that it’s worth much anyway. Probably in my perfect world my bike would look like something out of a Mad Max movie. (I know bright yellow and red doesn’t really shout Mad Max… more like McDonalds.)

I’m never one to turn down free bike stuff though. So I may give a thumbs up to the bake sale idea. In case I want to go to a classy event instead of just getting from place to place.

It’s probably true that I have no sense of style. :) But you gotta work with the senses you have.

From today’s New York Times:

It took a few miles to work the kinks out of my legs and churn up the first hill, but the payoff was spectacular. Lake Champlain sparkled blue in the distance, with the Adirondack Mountains rising stately in the background. Lush green hills were peppered with red silos, livestock and a white steeple far off. And then there were the trees, a patchwork of scarlet, orange and yellow that transformed a vista into something so perfect it almost didn’t look real.

• Read the story: “Pedal Peepers In Vermont”

The NYT also published a piece today by a reporter who tried out a pedicab for a day:

• Three Wheels Through the Park

A couple of weeks ago I took a bike ride near Holley, along the Erie Canal. This portion of the trail is not used much, and neither are many of the buildings, it appears.

I highly recommend that you make a day of it and take the kids to Hurd Orchards, one of western New York’s treasures. In the fall they serve apple pie which is yummy and filling enough to be your lunch.

Here are a few pictures from a couple of years ago. I get no credit for those adorable kids.

Via FAIL Blog

Erie Canal Bike Path from Macedon to Palmyra

A couple weeks ago on my commute home I decided to take part of the canal path that’s a little out of my way. I had a little extra time and it was a beautiful day. I even remembered to strap my camera to the handlebars and take a little video.

The ride was really about 20 minutes long but I speeded it up and compressed it into 5. If you want to take 20 minutes you should just drive out there and ride it yourself.

Saturday, October 24th will mark 350.org’s International Day of Climate Action and the end of a week of climate action teach-ins at RIT.

The culminating event in Rochester will be a mass bike ride along the proposed Rochester Greenway. The Rochester Greenway goes south from Downtown along the river, past the University of Rochester, through the Genesee Valley Park, and on down the Lehigh Valley North Trail to RIT.

Once at RIT, the Rochester Bike Summit will be held in the new Center for Student Innovation. Its goal: to discuss a number of exciting bicycle and alternative transportation initiatives, and to make connections between the bicycle community, city planners, and environmentalists.

Look for details at RochesterGreenway.org.

Among the attractions planned for the Rochester Cycle Summit
• volunteer-manned stations for free bicycle maintenance
• exhibits on pedal power and bicycles as energy-conservation solutions
• posters and exhibits describing numerous bike initiatives
• an ultra-wide screen short describing the potential for making Rochester a world class center for recreational and functional transport
• free rides on electric bikes

The folks over at BikeCommuters.com have a handy chart to help you figure it out.

Visit BikeCommuters.com for a larger version.

(Thanks to Bike Commuters for the link.)

The online cycling comic strip Yehuda Moon is hilarious, and I’m a huge fan of the humor. But I also love quiet moments like this one in today’s strip, titled “Autumn Rains.”

Visit the site for a larger version

Dear People Who Care,

I know it’s because you care about me that every time a friend of a friend of a friend is in a bad cycling accident you feel that you need to come tell me about it. I know it’s because you’re concerned that I’m doing something so dangerous by riding my bike to work, to the store, or around the block, and that you think it’s only a matter of time before I break my neck or my hip or my collar bone. Usually you don’t even know the person, it’s someone you saw on the news.

If I went around to all my friends and family every time I heard about a nasty car accident to share the cautionary tale and warn them to be extra careful, I’m pretty sure that is all I would be doing with my life. “Hey, be careful on Outlet Rd. I’ve seen at least 3 memorial crosses along that road. And I wouldn’t drive on 104 either. That road is just crosses from end to end. In fact, maybe you just shouldn’t drive. It seems pretty dangerous. I just worry about you.”

I do know it is because you care which is why I just reassure you with my prepared talking points that I am careful, that cycling is probably less dangerous than driving, and that hopefully people in cars will remember that they are surrounded by a giant crusty exoskeleton and that not everyone on the road is.

I know it is because you care that you run in to my office to tell me that they sky looks cloudy and ask how I will get home if it rains. The wind is picking up and, is there someone who can come pick me up if the weather takes a turn for the worse?

And on days that I don’t bike for some reason, I kind of wish that you wouldn’t say, “It’s a good thing you didn’t bike today. I think it’s supposed to rain later.” I don’t really ever feel like it’s a good thing that I didn’t bike, and I like the rain. If I overslept and had to drive I generally feel like I’m missing out on something fun.

I know you will continue to care about me so I don’t expect you to stop rushing into my office with weather updates and gore reports, but I hope you won’t be too offended if I keep riding my bike.

Cool!

Two Team RocBike members – Jack Spula and me – are holding a bike commuting panel/workshop/war story session this Sunday the 27th at the Rochester Abundance Cooperative Market Annual Meeting. I think we’ve been invited more for the strangeness of our bikes than for our friendly demeanor. The event starts at 3:30 at Tay House Lodge in Cobb’s Hill Park, right up a hill near the water treatment plant. Another familiar face at Abundance, Jessica Rodriguez, will be showing off her weird bike as well:

3:30 – 4 – Bike Commuters Show and Tell 
Jessica Rodriguez, Adam Durand, and Jack Spula talk about car-free commuting and demonstrate their two – (or three – ) wheeled wonders.

I should give The Chicken Avenger a hose-down this week. There are a bunch of other workshops, including a session on urban chickens and another on vegan gluten-free baking, and it’s completely free and open to the public. Here’s the schedule. This event is right up my alley.

Hey gang,

My friend and fellow Team Fattymate Jenni Laurita is auctioning some very cool pink tires to raise money for her second LIVESTRONG Challenge Ride of the year. She already did the Philly excursion, and this fall she’s off to Austin for more riding and raising of cash.

Please visit her Web site for details on how to win against cancer and win pink tires!

Learn more about World Car-Free Day

Adam Marino locks up his bike at Maple Avenue Middle School last Wednesday, the first day of classes. Photo by CharlieSamuels.com

From The Saratogian newspaper:

Family defies no-bike policy at Maple Avenue Middle School
Published: Monday, September 14, 2009

By ANDREW J. BERNSTEIN
The Saratogian

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The first day of school, already a happy and trying event for any student, saw a little additional stress for Maple Avenue Middle School student Adam Marino.

Marino and his mother, Janette Kaddo Marino, left for school by bicycle on Wednesday morning, as they often do in good weather, despite a phone call placed to students’ homes by school officials, asking parents not to allow students to walk or ride bikes to school.

After a cold reception on Wednesday, local transportation advocates are rallying around the family, and plan to accompany the pair to school today in a bid to bolster calls for a policy change.

Read the rest of the article

An evening scene in Asakusa, an area in the Shitamachi district of Tokyo. / Hiroko Masuike for The New York Times

The New York Times featured this cool story about taking a bike tour along Japan’s famed Yamanote (ya-ma-no-tay) train line. I used to ride this line as part of my commute the second time I lived in Japan. When I worked for Bloomberg TV and Radio in Tokyo, my office was right in the area on this map where it says “Marunouchi Business District.”

Here’s the story:

• No Squishing: Biking a Tokyo Rail Line

Introducing the Hopworksfiets: Beer, pizza, music, and true Portland spirit, all on one bike
from BikePortland.org

The downside of bananas as a cycling snack is not knowing what to do with the peel when you’re on the go with no garbage can in site. The up side is that you can easily bungee them to your bike rack. You could never to that with an apple.

‘Nuff said:

I know I’m deranged but for some reason yesterday I started thinking about the seasons changing and instead of focusing on the fall my mind jumped straight to winter. I bike commuted last year up until sometime in November. I had intentions of going all year but somehow started having trouble getting motivated in the mornings. I really think it was more about gear than anything else.

My feet were getting too cold. I couldn’t find any combo of shoes and socks that worked for me (out of the pile of shoes and socks that I already owned.) And there’s something weird about being on a long ride and not being sure if you can’t feel your toes because you’ve been in the wrong position too long or because your toes are frostbitten and dead.

I rode 30 miles home from Rochester in sleet one evening and somewhere around mile 22 I started worrying that my toes were dead, that I would pull off my boot and to find something horrible like what I have seen on shows about Mt. Everest trips gone horribly wrong or Arctic expeditions where no one made it out alive. My mind wanders funny places when I’m riding a long time.

I really do want to ride year ’round but I think I need to find the right gear combination for me. I just use regular platform pedals so I don’t have to find something that will wrap around cycling shoes but I have to find something that is unstoppably warm.

I thought back to when I was a kid and spent hours in the snow. My feet didn’t fall off then. Mostly it was many layers of socks, plus bread bags over the socks stuffed into boots that were too big for me. Did other people’s parents send them outside like that or is my family crazy?

I never did try the bread bag thing last year though I probably should have. I think it was more the cold wind cutting through my damp shoes that did me in.

Anyone have any recommendations or thoughts on good footwear for biking in winter? I know it’s early, but it’s on my mind at the moment.

The Guardian is featuring a story today by Peter Walker about the bicycle as the vehicle of civil disobedience. Here’s an excerpt:

So what is it that makes the bicycle and the demonstration such good companions? To me, there are two factors at play.

Firstly, if you’re in a group, there is something undeniably liberating about riding around a city surrounded by cyclists. I’ve never been on a Critical Mass ride, so going to Blackheath was a strange sensation – no longer a vulnerable solo rider lined up against the massed metal forces of the motorised traffic, I was part of an entity too big to ignore or shove unthinkingly into the kerb.

Second, if you’re a solo campaigner in an urban environment then the bike is the mode of transport most guaranteed to get you to your protest on time and – perhaps more important still – give you the best chance of slipping away from pursuing authorities. When I worked for another news organisation in Beijing I’d regularly pedal to meetings or protests, nipping down narrow lanes to shake off the unmarked police cars, which routinely trail foreign journalists in China.

Voici:

The Original Longtail | Xtracycle from Xtracycle on Vimeo.

Watch this and Fatty will tell you:

2009 Philadelphia LiveStrong Challenge: Fatty’s Speech from Fat Cyclist on Vimeo.

If you can’t watch until later, this is how you Fight Like Susan:

• Be focused
• Be creative
• Have outrageous endurance
• Be kind

This is gorgeous.

Ride With Us! from Russ Roca on Vimeo.

More at The Path Less Pedaled.

Finally, cyclists and pedestrians will be able to travel down Jefferson Road in Henrietta with a little bit of dignity:

More than one mile of the road will be upgraded, from the Marketplace Mall to under the Interstate 390 overpass. In addition to a third lane in both directions, there will be space for cyclists, sidewalks for pedestrians, and a median which will keep cars from crossing several lanes of traffic in order to make a left-hand turn.

As a cyclist, when I must travel on Jefferson Road I stick mostly to the parking lots, hopping onto the road for short stretches when there is no other option. I don’t know how they’ll handle such a heavy traffic load in a way that’s safe for non-motorists, but maybe they’ll use some ideas that have been proposed for places like New York City.

NOTE: This is a “sticky” post, so it will stay at the top even as new content is added below it. Be sure to scroll down for new posts, OK? Thanks!

NOTE #2: If you scroll down the right side of this site, you’ll see a bold heading that reads “Team Fatty & Friends.” Below this heading are blogs by members of Team Fatty and folks who are fighting the same fight. If you’d like to be linked in the list, please send an email to jason at rocbike dot com. (Thanks to Albany Bob for the suggestion!)

Other folks are posting their ride reports from this weekend. I’ll share them in this post and just continue to update it. Most of these folks are from Team Fatty, but not all. If I can find a story about someone fighting cancer by walking, running or riding at the Philly event, I’ll link it here.

Ready to beat cancer. And yes, the knitted Rasta glove is mine. Photo by Albany Bob

“Albany” Bob Anderson

• “Livestrong Philly”
• Fatties in Hilladelphia
• “getting there…”
• “Livestrong Pics 1″
• “Livestrong Pics 2″
• “Livestrong Pics 3″
• “Livestrong Pics 4″
• “Livestrong Pics 5″
• “Livestrong Pics 6″
• “Livestrong Pics 7″
• “Livestrong Pics 8″
• “Livestrong Pics 9″
• “Livestrong Pics 10″
• Livestrong Pics 11″

Andrea from the Evolve blog

• “Philly”
• “Running, Riding, Meeting Fatty, And Why It All Matters”

Daniel Berlinger

• “Team Fatty – Fighting Like Susan – Livestrong Challenge Philly 2009″

Rhonda Chattin

• “2009 Philly Livestrong Challenge Day”
• “Livestrong Challenge 2009 Summary *The Directors Cut!”

Jason Crane (me)

• “The (bald, chubby) eagle has landed”
• “My first triple century, or, How I learned to stop worrying and love my Xtracycle*”

Ken Durbin

• “Livestrong 2009 Reflections”

Clay Frost

• “Philly Phase One … Century Eve”

Dave from “Game On, Cancer”

• “Livestrong Challenge Eve Part 1 of 2″
• “Livestrong Challenge Eve Part 2 of 2″
• “Livestrong Challenge!!!”

Rebecca from Girl On The Loose

• Pictures

Creighton Higgins

• “Livin’ Strong In Philadelphia With Team Fatty”

Kelly Kavanagh-O’Connell

• “Livestrong Challenge 2009 Philly Ride Report, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Hills”

Kevin Kavanaugh

• Pictures

Matthew Kayes

• “Philly Livestrong Challenge 100″

Lana

• Pictures

Jenni Laurita

• “Livestrong Philly 2009″
• Pictures

Lizzylou

• “That Was A Lot Of Ribbon”
• “Philly Livestrong: Non-ride Part”
• “Philly Livestrong: Ride Part”

Elden “Fatty” Nelson

• “Relaxing In Philly”
• “Livestrong Philadelphia Report Day 1″ (Includes video of Fatty’s and Philly Jen’s speeches at the dinner)
• “2009 Livestrong Philly Report Day 2″

Robert Orler

• “Livestrong Philly”

Samantha from Ribbons For A Reason

“Our Livestrong Challenge”

Joe “CycleChef” Sheridan

• “Team Fatty”

Angie Suttle

• “Philly Livestrong Challenge”

Thad Suzenski

• “Livestrong Century”

10NBC video from Philly

• Windows Media Player video

KYW News Radio Philly

• “Thousands Participate in ‘Livestrong Challenge’ in Montco”

Philadelphia Examiner

• “Fat Cyclist Comes To Philadelphia For Livestrong Challenge”

Stay tuned.

When last we met (see the previous installment, “The (bald, chubby) eagle has landed,” I was in a Barnes & Noble in Somewhere, PA, figuring out where to park the Hotel Subaru for the night.

Albany Bob from Liberty On Bikes! had recommended a particular walled parking lot near the Livestrong Village, so I made my way over there and found a secluded spot near the wall. I jammed my sleeping bag into the back of the car, which is when I discovered that the car is a least a foot shorter than I am. With the Xtracycle also in the back, I had about an inch of clearance from the left pedal and maybe two inches from the handlebars. Sitting up quickly would mean certain death – or at least a badly bruised noggin.

It was 11:30 p.m. by this time. I set my phone alarm for 5 a.m. and eventually drifted off to sleep.

Seconds later, it was 5 a.m. I changed my shorts in the dark of the deserted parking lot, then did my best to brush my teeth and get my contacts in. I drove over to the Doubletree Hotel, where Team Fat Cyclist was gathering for a 6 a.m. group ride to the start line. There were about 30 of us at the hotel, including the man himself — Elden “Fatty” Nelson, whose blog about cycling and about his own family’s fight with cancer had inspired us all to be there in the first place. His appearance was met with a big cheer, and he hopped on his bike and led us away from the hotel. I rode in the back because it was still dark and I had my Down Low Glow blazing. I ended up riding with Fatty for about half the way, which was great. He’s got to be one of the most grounded human beings I’ve ever met. I don’t know how he does it.

A photo of the rollout taken by Jennie Laurita. The woman in the light-colored jersey is Lauren, and I’m just behind her.

Rolling out on The Packet Boat with Philly Jen. Note the Down Low Glow! (Photo by Creighton Higgins)

By the time we reached Livestrong Village and made our way to the start line, the sun had come out and it was looking to be a beautiful day. The rest of Team Fatty was waiting for us at the start line. I’m not sure how many of us there were, but it a big, big gang. Fatty addressed the crowd to many cheers, and then Philly Jen read from the donation page of the person who had won a set of Shimano wheels and pedals. As it turned out, it was Albany Bob, who told me after the fact that he never wins anything. (By the way, check out the very moving work Bob did to the back of his van.)

Because Team Fatty Philly had raised a bazillion dollars, we got to start first. We all crowded up to the start line where the Livestrong photographers snapped a group shot. I rode with Dan, one of the event organizers, and Lauren, who was riding her first event — and who had only started riding seriously a couple months before. Lauren and I decided to stay together because it was her first ride and we were both doing the 45-mile course. As you’ll learn, she eventually dropped me like a bad habit and finished in about half my time.

Albany Bob, Dan, me at the start line (Photo by Lana)

The south end of a northbound Xtracycle (Photo by Lana)

Albany Bob and yours truly (Photo by Kevin Kavanaugh

We rode out on the long, balloon-covered road from the start line, with hundreds of spectators cheering us on. The organizers said more than 6,000 people were riding, running or walking in the event, which is incredible. I’d never ridden in a group that large, and it was a thrill to see hundreds and hundreds of cyclists take to the roads in the morning sunlight.

Later in the ride, I heard that Lance Armstrong has told the organizers every year to make the courses harder and harder. “It’s supposed to be a challenge,” he is reported to have said. I will go into that in great detail in the nasty note I’ll be sending Lance. (Kidding!) All I can say is: The first 20 or so miles were great, and the rest comprised the hardest ride I’ve ever done in my life.

First of all, I rode my Xtracycle**. If you’ve ever been to RocBike before, you’ve seen my bike. It’s a Giant Sedona hybrid with massive tires and a big cargo bike kit on the back. It weighs a lot. A lot a lot. Too much, some might say. To me, riding the Xtracycle was part of the challenge. That’s because I’m an idiot.

Second, I never really looked at the elevation charts provided by the fine sadists at Livestrong. Had I done that, I would have quickly realized that there was no way I could actually ride my bike for 45 miles on the course they’d laid out, no doubt late at night in a dimly lit room with chains and whips and an iron maiden in the corner. This course, you see, was Brutal with a capital “B.” In fact, I think it’s fair to say it was BRUTAL, with a capital-all-them-letters.

Like I said, it was fine in the beginning. Lauren and I stayed together and chatted while we rode, exchanging the little biographies that you trade in those situations. I was feeling fairly tired, and I hadn’t eaten (idiot), but I figured I could make it the 10 miles to the rest stop and load up on food there. That worked just fine. The first rest stop was incredible. Tons of food, water and Gatorade, and even free massages from the wonderful Tobi. I left feeling refreshed and ready to ride.

I think it was about mile 20 when the first big hill came. I live in Albany, and we have some big hills. But not like these hills. You see, here in Albany, the hills have tops. In Pennsylvania (which is Dutch for “granny gear”) the hills defy geography and just continue to go up. And up. And up some more. I’m not sure how it’s possible, but we climbed a hill that had everyone moaning and swearing, and at the top of the hill was a hill. Dan had rejoined us, and the three of us pulled off the road to rest and hydrate and eat for a minute. Lauren and Dan said they were ready to go, and I told them to go ahead and not wait for me.

It was then that I had my big crisis.

I was exhausted. A craptacular night of sleep in the Hotel Subaru, combined with a woeful lack of calories, had me shaking and feeling nauseous. I’ve never bonked, but I wondered if this was what it felt like. And I knew, for the first time ever on my bike, that I couldn’t make it.

That was when I thought about everything that had gotten me to this point. Cancer had hit my mother, my grandmother, my great-grandmother, my cousin, my great-uncle, my friend Travis (who died last year from testicular cancer), my grandfather and childhood hero Bernie Flanders (who passed away earlier this summer) … and most recently my Aunt Linda, who is battling breast cancer right now. She’s been a huge inspiration in my life, because she’s never been afraid to walk her own path, regardless of others’ opinions. I’d also spent several years watching Fatty and Susan fight cancer and rally others to their cause. And I’d been inspired to launch my own jazz raffle by the efforts of Fatty’s sister, Jodi. Moreover, I’d raised more than $2,200 with help from family, friends, colleagues and complete strangers. My Rotary club had gathered around me, too, supporting me with the first grant from the revived charity committee.

And that was when I knew that there was no turning back. I got back on the Packet Boat (my Xtracycle) and rode as far up the hill as I could go. Then I got off and walked the bike up the hill. Have I mentioned that it weighs a lot? Pushing it up hills really stinks.

I reached the second aid station and looked around for Lauren and Dan. They weren’t there, although Lauren later said they’d waited for me for quite a while. Who knows how long I’d stood at the bottom of that hill weighing my options?

The rest of the ride was a mixture of pedaling and walking, punctuated with wonderful conversations with my fellow riders. I chatted with Rob from Long Island, a member of Team Fatty who told me he’d played in a charity golf tournament the week before to raise money for autism, inspired by a family member who was diagnosed with autism. And here he was on a hot summer day, riding through the hills of eastern Pennsylvania.

I met Rhonda from Virginia. She’d seen cancer rip through her own family, and decided it was time to change the odds.

I was passed by a cyclist who turned to me as he passed and said, “This is where I quit last year!” Then he let out a whoop and pedaled up the hill. I interviewed him later for the audio piece I’m working on, and he broke down as talked about his dad’s fight with cancer.

That’s what the Livestrong ride is like. Every time you think you can’t possibly make it up one more hill, you find another wonderful person with a story that puts strength in your legs and stamina in your heart. Like the Holland and Wilson families, who both live at the top of big hills and who decided to hand out water to the riders as they passed. Or like the hundreds of volunteers who cheer on the riders, make the food, give massages, and congratulate you every step of the way. or the doctor who works at the one of the aid stations and bring his interns to do the same.

By the end of the ride, I had nothing left. The last few miles were a climb to the finish line, and I was sagging on my bike with my head hanging to one side. I was determined to ride the last few miles, and it took everything I could muster. The amazing thing was that as I struggled up the hills, rider after rider passed me and said “Go Team Fatty!” These people didn’t know me, and most of them didn’t know Fatty either. But they believed in the cause and were inspired by Team Fatty’s efforts.

And I made it up the hill.

I rode past the balloons and cheering crowds and PA announcer, and came to two of the other great moments on my ride. Standing at the finish line was Fatty, who I would later learn waited for every member of Team Fatty to finish. And right behind him was Albany Bob, who’d waited a long time for me to get there. That was a great moment, and a great gift from two very good guys.

The ride was, by far, the hardest physical activity I’ve ever done in my life. I’ve ridden farther, but never over a course like that. But it was also one of the greatest gifts I’ve ever been given. To be a part of a larger movement, of people united by no thought other than doing good, of people drawn together by one family’s amazing story — that is truly something worth doing. Thanks, Fatty.

* As everyone knows, Xtracycle miles are like dog years. Thus, my 45 miles counted for 315 miles.

(I’ve been making an audio recording of the trip, too, so look for an episode of the RocBike Review after the ride.)

So I’m in Philly. Well technically I’m in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, home of Montgomery County Community College and the temporary home of the 2009 LIVESTRONG Challenge Ride – Philly edition.

On my way out of town this morning, I stopped by Eastern Mountain Sports because they sell Sigg bottles and I needed two new ones for the ride. The guy at the counter said, “You’re heading to Philly, right?” Apparently he’d visited RocBike.com and recognized me.

(A small aside: A woman named Paula in Albany has a Surly Big Dummy! My son Bernie and I were at the Downtube and saw it. She came out and noticed my Packet Boat and we chatted. She also knew who I was from reading this site. Paula agreed to become a contributor, too. Which, with the RocBike Curse, means she’ll soon stop writing about cycling completely. Sorry, Paula!)

Anway…

I arrived here in PA about 4 p.m. and headed straight for LIVESTRONG Village, the assemblage of vendors and nonprofits who surround the registration area. Recent rains had turned the ground into what Team Fatty Philly Captain “Philly Jen” described as a “mosh pit.” But everyone was in good spirits, and I saw several other members of Team Fatty while I was registering. The registration process was very efficient. According to one person at the site, there are more than 800 volunteers signed up for today and tomorrow to make the whole event run.

I got a nice bag o’ swag — hat, t-shirt, messenger bag, water bottle, and maybe a few other things that I have yet to dig out of the yellow LIVESTRONG bag. By the way, if you don’t like yellow, I recommend avoiding these rides. Everything is yellow.

The Team Fatty event at the Doubletree Hotel was running until 5 p.m. I made it with minutes to spare, just in time to meet Philly Jen (who saw me walk in and yelled “Jason!” — I guess there’s a shortage of chubby bald guys on our team) and another guy from Albany who wasn’t either Bob or me. Nor was he anyone I’d seen before. Small world. Apparently the Doubletree had booted out half of Team Fatty citing “water damage” on two floors. Rumor has it that the damage was more likely caused by overbooking, given that Team Fatty was booted out of another hotel owned by the same company at another recent Challenge ride. Sounds like the airline industry.

In search of some way to kill the hours between 5 p.m. and 5 a.m., when we all meet for breakfast, I drove around a bit. I found a park advertising a free concert at 6 p.m., so I followed the winding road back to the park … where a small sign said, “Concert Canceled.” I decided instead to eat dinner. I tried hard to avoid a chain restaurant, driving around until I spotted a big sign for Bombay High Indian Cuisine. I pulled in to the plaza to find that the highway sign and plaza sign had been installed, but the seats, tables, lights, kitchen and staff had yet to arrive. Sigh.

I ended up eating sushi at Benihana. I can’t believe I just typed that, and if you ever tell anyone, I’ll deny it. After three years in Japaan, I’m a real snob about Japanese food, and Benihana to me is like the Taco Bell of Japanese food. But I ate it and was grateful for some air conditioning and green tea.

The author at Barnes & Noble, delaying his date with the Hotel Subaru

I’m typing this in a Barnes and Noble because I’m staying tonight in the Hotel Subaru, and it doesn’t have wi-fi. In fact, it no longer has XM radio either, because some damned squirrels chewed through the antenna cable. I must say, the Hotel Subaru seemed much more inviting when I was tossing my sleeping bag in the back of the car this morning than it does now. Not least because my Xtracycle is also in the hotel’s one room, and it’s a very big bike. There’s a lovely thunderstorm now, too, so if this is my last blog entry, you’ll know why.

(I’ve been making an audio recording of the trip, too, so look for an episode of the RocBike Review after the ride.

Photo by USA Today

By Bruce Horovitz, USA TODAY

Sarah Gilbert stepped off her bicycle long enough to send one angry tweet via Twitter— and it’s changed the way one fast-growing burger chain treats bike riders.

The 35-year-old blogger, freelance writer and mother of three doesn’t own a car. She gets around usually bike-friendly Portland, Ore., on a custom-made stretch bike that fits all three of her boys, ages 2, 4 and 7. A bumper sticker boasts: “One less minivan.”

But after biking last week into the drive-through of the local Burgerville— an eco-conscious burger chain that even recycles its used cooking oil into biodiesel — she tried to order four cheeseburgers.

No go. She was refused service at the drive-through for, of all things, ordering from a bike. Never mind that the environmentally friendly restaurant chain spent $185,000 on wind energy credits in 2008 to compensate for the electricity used in its 39 stores and at its corporate headquarters.

When Gilbert got home, she sent out a huffy tweet followed by a pointed letter to the chain, which she posted on her blog, cafemama.com. By the next day, the company apologized. In short order, the Vancouver, Wash.-based chain, with locations in Oregon and Washington, revamped its policy and will announce a new bicycle-friendly drive-through program on Sept. 8.

Read the rest of the story.

I made my second goal ($1,926) a couple days ago. Today, the Rotary Club of Albany, of which I’m a member, gave me a check for $250. With some additional donations, my total for this ride is now at $2,216! Here’s a photo from the Rotary meeting. That’s Bob Stone presenting the award certificate:

There’s still time to donate and get in on the big jazz raffle, but you have to act NOW: http://philly09.livestrong.org/jasoncrane. A full list of prizes is on the donation page.

Thanks so much for your support. RocBike’s own Bob Anderson will have photos, and I’ll have audio from the ride, so look for a post-race story soon. Fatty will be there, too, so maybe I’ll get to meet him in person. Huzzah!

As you know, my goal is to raise $1,926 dollars for the Lance Armstrong Foundation in the LIVESTRONG Challenge Ride. The ride takes place in Philadelphia on August 23. With 9 days to go, I’ve raised $1,646. If my math is correct, that means I need $280 to make my goal.

I’ve got tons of cool prizes to give away, all jazz-related, including:

• A meet-and-greet package with the Strickland brothers (E.J. and Marcus) as they each release their new CDs. The package includes:
  • Two tickets to the double-CD release party at the famed Joe’s Pub in Manhattan on August 21
  • Autographed copies of both CDs
  • A meet-and-greet with Marcus and E.J. at the show
• Tickets to see Kenny Barron & Mulgrew Miller, vocalist Steven Santoro, and the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra at beautiful Tanglewood in Lenox, MA, on Labor Day weekend
• Tickets to see Dave Brubeck in western Massachusetts on Oct. 17
• Autographed CDs from Patti Wicks, Jo Lawry, Mike Melito, and many more!
• LP reissues of classic jazz recordings!
• A Big Box o’ Jazz CDs from the fine folks at Braithwaite and Katz!
• And more!

How do you get in on the action? For every $5 you donate at my LIVESTRONG page, you’ll get a raffle ticket. The more you fight cancer, the better your chances of winning.

I’ll draw the winner of the Strickland package on Tuesday, August 18 (and the deadline for donations for that prize is 10 p.m. ET on Monday, August 17).

I’ll draw the rest of the prizes on August 30, and the winners will be announced on the August 31 episode of The Jazz Session.

So please help! DONATE NOW!

This is a great idea.

Via FAIL Blog

The Rochester Greenway

http://rochestergreenway.org/.

The proposed trail would connect RIT, U of R and downtown Rochester.

There is an existing trail currently connecting RIT and the U of R; Lehigh Valley North from Henrietta Town Line Road to River Road.

I think these two are on to something…

Via http://pathlesspedaled.com/?p=492

Follow their adventures at pathlesspedaled.com.

Fatty has posted a remembrance of his wife, Susan. Like everything connected with this story, it’s moving, heartbreaking and inspiring. The Nelson family has certainly created a lot of love in the world.

Read the remembrance.

And if you want to join the fight, please DONATE.

Image from Twin Six

Elden “Fat Cyclist” Nelson posted the following on his site:

Susan died tonight (August 5) at 7:25pm. It was a hard, long day, and Susan fought right to the end, for much longer than anyone would have thought she could.

My mom, my sisters Kellene and Jodi, and my Brother-in-Law Rocky were all here to support my family as Susan passed away.

I’ll have more to say soon, but consider this. Susan inspired me to expand the focus of my blog from nothing but bike-related jokes to a serious and pitched fight against cancer.

Then she inspired 500+ of you to join Team Fatty, the largest LiveStrong Challenge Team there has ever been.

And Team Fatty has raised more than $500,000 — a record amount.

Susan’s part in the battle is over, but she didn’t lose. She led the charge. She showed the rest of us how to fight: with determination, focus, creativity, and outrageous endurance.

Now it’s up to the rest of us to Fight Like Susan.

The coordinator of Team Fatty Philly sent this message this morning:

My dear teammates,

It is with deep and profound sadness that I write to inform you the Susan Nelson passed away earlier this evening.

As each of you has shared Susan’s story with your friends and family, and as you have put your heartfelt efforts into Team Fatty, you all have been instrumental in bringing Susan’s fight to the eyes, ears, and hearts of the world.

Susan was unwavering in her battle; she held steady and true. Let us honor her memory by showing the same spirit and determination.

Give like Fatty. Fight like Susan.

Donations in Susan’s memory may be made at Elden’s (Fatty’s) Livestrong page: http://philly09.livestrong.org/fatty

Donations in Susan’s memory may also be made on your own Livestrong page: http://philly09.livestrong.org/jasoncrane

Russ Roca is a man of many bike blogs, including this one and this one and this one, too, all of which have made multiple appearances here at RocBike in our old Links of the Day posts. Now Russ is heading out with his partner Laura on a bike trip.

Not just any bike trip, mind you. Russ and Laura sold or stored all their stuff except what would fit on two bicycles, and they’re going to travel the world by bike for some indeterminate period of time. Cool, huh?

They started a (wait for it) blog to chronicle their travels: The Path Less Pedaled. You can also follow them on Twitter and Facebook.

Today is the day before they leave, and they recorded a little video from their nearly bare apartment:

Good luck and safe travels, Russ and Laura!

Fatty and Susan recorded this video a couple weeks ago before the Livestrong Challenge ride in San Jose. Watch it, and then go here to donate to fight cancer. Thank you.

…and other tales from a bike messenger turned drug dealer.