Morning cycling with Robin the Roofer (Comments: 0)

I left my ATM card in a machine on State Street last night after the Steinem event, so I had to head down to that SEFCU branch this morning and retrieve it. I’ve started using Myrtle Ave as my route downtown rather than Madison. I can hop onto Myrtle close to my house, and even though it’s a one-lane, one-way street, it still has a lot less traffic than Madison or any of the other major north-south thoroughfares.

I came back through Washington Park. I have a feeling that’s going to be part of many of my downtown trips. It’s such a beautiful ride. I ended up at Lake and Madison, and a cyclist across the street yelled, “How’s that working out for you?” referring to the Packet Boat (Xtracycle). I pedaled across the street, and met Robin the Roofer.

He had two steel baskets on the back of his bike to carry his roofing gear. He said he’d like to be carrying 40-50 pounds more gear but was limited by the size of the baskets. I told him about the wonderful carrying capacity of the Xtracycle and told him to take it down the street for a spin. With a “Sweet!” he was off down the block and back. “It’s almost disappointing,” he said, “because it doesn’t feel any different than any other bike.”

“That’s what makes it so cool,” I said.

Robin said he’d seen me riding around, and asked me whether I purchased my Xtracycle kit at the Down Tube on Madison. When I said no, he said there must be two Xtracycles in Albany because he’d seen a kit there once. (Side note: If you’re out there, other Xtracycle rider, let me know!) I told Robin about this site and invited him to contribute his own cycling stories.

Robin also told me about Troy Bike Rescue. This is from their Web site:

TBR began sometime in 2001 as a hybrid public art/action project. In 2001 and 2002, we held several workshops, and attempted some ‘public bike’ experiments in Troy. since then it has evolved into a small network of volunteers and supporters who come together to create streetshops in public spaces with the intent of recycling and redistributing bicycles. In the beginning bikes were rescued from dumpsters and alleyways, stripped, and pieced together to make new machines. Then, in 2002-03, TBR began to get donations of old bicycles and parts from people throughout the capitol region, and built up a stockpile of bikes in need of repair and redistribution. We worked with partners like Equinox to create bike libraries; we released a fleet of free green bikes into the downtown of Troy; We used a mobile van (supported by NYSCA) to put on Streetshops, which were free outdoor workshops with bikes and parts for sale.

In 2004, TBR migrated its operations to Albany. With the help and support of the New York Bike Coalition (NYBC), TBR eventually found a home with Trinity, a South End Albany non-profit organization. Trinity donates the space in exchange for allowing their youth to participate in workshops. So, Trinity Basement Rescue is now another name for Troy Bike Rescue, a small but dedicated bicycle collective in the capital district. With an ever-growing and changing stock of donated and “rescued” bicycles, TBR volunteers work with Trinity Insitute to reach out to community members in order to facilitate cycling in Albany, Troy, Schenectady, and the surrounding areas. Current services include youth bicycle maintenance classes and a community bike shop where used cycles are available for adoption. Discounts are taken off adoption fees when the adoptive parents work on the bikes themselves. Children in the bicycle maintenance program receive a free bike at the end of the session. Participants in occasional “monster bike” sessions are able to design new unique bikes out of old frames and parts that are then welded together.

These days, workshops are still happening at Trinity, and there is some more talk of TBR operations starting back up again in Troy in the spring, as well. TBR is still accepting donations to locations in Albany and Troy.

Sounds great — I’ll have to find out more.

So it was a good morning. A beautiful ride, a meeting with a cool cyclist, and news about an unknown-to-me advocacy group. What’s not to like?

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