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?
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.
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.
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 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.
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
Boneshaker is available from Wolverine Farm Publishing for $6.
The other day I was complimented on my sneakers.
(Too bad we don’t have a “style” category.)
I was photographed and interviewed for a Times Union article, which you can read here.
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.
