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.

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.

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/.

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

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 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.

…and you can see it here.