I wrote a post for sewgreen which included lots of links to RocBike. So, I’m returning the favor by linking to them! Click here for a bicycle Christmas stocking, DIY snow tires, and more!

(cross posted at sewgreen)

On my drizzly bike ride to work this morning, this sage wisdom occurred to me: If you want to feel like you can conquer anything, take a bike ride in the rain. There’s something about that feeling of perseverance in unpleasant conditions, all with the end result of transportation from Point A to Point B, that just makes me feel virtuous. (I think you would feel even more special if you were in the bike taxi pictured above, though perhaps a bit less virtuous.)

But then I had a second thought. That’s easy for me to say, realizing that I was wearing waterproof pants and jacket, using waterproof panniers to carry my change of clothes and lunch, and riding a nice bike, which I purchased new from my favorite local bike shop.

Perhaps I am not so virtuous after all. I’ve written before about the notion of bike commuting as privilege. It seems strange to think of it that way, but really, bike commuting is relatively easy for me simply because I do have a level of privilege. I don’t have family members requiring child, elder, or illness-related care. I have a level of formal education that has helped me have more opportunities for work, including the ability to choose to work near my home. I don’t have to worry about getting to multiple appointments for services, medical care, or to search for a job. Any of those circumstances could, of course, change in an instant.

And if they did, and I did not have a car, my daily life would become much more complicated. My mid-size city does not have convenient and reliable public transportation. I do utilize the city bus at times, but more than once it has failed to show at the appointed time.

If we are to have communities which truly promote bike commuting for transportation, we have to address the needs of those who don’t have some of the privileges which I enjoy. That includes efficient multimodal transportation, for one thing.

But it also means making safe bikes and bike repairs accessible to everyone. One group in my city, R Community Bikes, has given away over 1,810 bikes this year alone, to help meet the basic transportation needs of those in need. All an individual needs is a signed letter from an employer, doctor, school, church, or social services agency stating why she needs a bike. They also go out to events at communities in need to repair bikes.

Programs like this are a great start, and I would love to hear about other such efforts to make bike commuting accessible to all. Perhaps donations of waterproof gear, or a bike taxi service like the one in Malaysia, floral plastic covering included?

p.s. Cycling in the rain requires some extra care. Here’s what the League of American Bicyclist recommends.

Here are a few things that have come across my email lately:

Flour City Invitational Bicycle Polo, August. 27-29. Go here for the schedule. Most events happen tomorrow, August 28.

World Canals Conference Flotilla Bicycle Ride, September 19. Bicycle along the Erie Canal alongside a flotilla of boats to kick off the World Canals Conference happening right here in Rochester.

MCC Ride for Scholarships, September 25. This one requires pre-registration, and is a fundraiser for scholarships to Monroe Community College students in need. Only $18, plus a free t-shirt. Route is a pleasant 15-mile tour of MCC’s campuses and facilities around the area, and is largely on trails (map is available for download at the website). I’m helping out with this one, so I’ll definitely be there! (I wrote about the previous ride here.)

Not only that, but the Rochester Master Bike Plan is also moving along! Go to the website to review and leave comments.

City government says they’re aiming for full “Bicycle Friendly Community” status from the League of American Bicyclists (we got honorable mention for 2009). I’d say we’re getting there!

(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!)

Be there at 5:30! More information here.

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.

(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!

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

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.

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!)