Context: EPO is the drug of choice for pro cyclists. Nuff said…

That supremely well-lit bike welcomed me and my partner to the Sugar Maple Trailside Inn in Florence, Massachusetts on our luxuriously long summer vacation (well, not as long as those who summer on Nantucket, another one of our stops, but long for us). The inn is filled with bicycle decor and bike and rail-trail related reading materials, is right next to a rail trail, and has two cruisers available for guests to borrow. Not only that, one of the hosts is an experienced advocate for rail trails.

Jason recently wrote about plans for expanded trails in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, and rail trails do indeed abound in the parts of the state I’ve visited, which include the Berkshires, Pioneer Valley, Cape Cod, and Nantucket.

So if you’re looking for a good cycling destination, check out Massachusetts, and I recommend a stop at the Sugar Maple Inn!

As any good bicycle safety resource will tell you, bicycles belong on the road. That’s where cars are going to see you, and it’s where pedestrians are going to hop out in front of you a little less. And although if you’re just getting into cycling you may find that riding street-level with cars may be a little unnerving, you’ll be much safer if you do.

That said, there are a few exceptions to riding on the road. I’m going to go over some of them here. Remember, if you choose to ride on the sidewalk for any length, be extra cautious. Anytime you cross a street from the sidewalk you should assume motorists aren’t looking for you. Be nice to pedestrians when you encounter them and don’t ride much faster than the speed they’re walking (here are some more tips for you sidewalk-using renegades).

OK, on with the list:

1. Momentary motorist distrust 

It’s best to assume, as a cyclist, that every motorist could go veering in any direction at any moment. In practice, this would make cycling on city streets prohibitively slow and paranoid. But it’s still good to have a handle on which cars are approaching you when. If a motorist seems unusually prone to veering, or if they are driving towards you in a way that indicates they have no idea you’re there, hopping up to the curb until they pass is the best idea.

You can, in part, rely on the sounds cars make (and perhaps the occasional head twist) to monitor traffic behind you. However, mirrors, invented 8,000 years ago, make a wonderful accessory to your bike and clue you in to approaching trouble you may not otherwise notice. They also allow you to do double-takes at other bikes out on the road without being so obvious about it. And they cost about $10.

Spot suspicious cars driving backwards towards you with a trusty mirror. 

2. Inclement weather 

You’re in an ice storm in the middle of winter, but no matter how big the metal studs on your tires are, you can be sure the motorist next to you is knuckling it on bald all-seasons. The best you can do when a 2-ton metal brick starts sliding around next to you is to put a curb between you and the brick.

Downpours can pose a different problem - potholes and poorly designed storm drains have their way of hiding underneath vast puddles. And as visibility drops, not only will motorists have a hard time seeing you, but vice-versa. Although you may be anxious to get out of the rain, playing it safer and slower up on the sidewalk may be the most prudent option.

3. Awesome shortcuts 

Part of being a safe city cyclist is using side streets when possible. Riding down the nearly-abandoned side streets in smaller cities like Rochester can be calmer, smoother, and often more picturesque.

The calmest of sides streets are that way because they aren’t open to “thru traffic,” but cyclists don’t always have to heed these traffic rules. Sometimes a pathway, a park, a footbridge, or a sidewalk connects dead ends to other roads and allows the street-smart cyclist to take these alternate routes.

Spend some time riding around side streets you otherwise may think you can’t get through, and you may be surprised at the options little footpaths give you.

My favorite shortcut in Rochester, which takes you from S Goodman and 490 to Oxford and Monroe. The numerous bike tire tracks in the snow indicate this shortcut’s popularity. 

4. Construction 

Construction often provides motorists with the terrible combination of sensory overload with confined shoulder-free lane space. Unless you’re prepared to take a lane and infuriate a motorist in standstill traffic because they need to wait 8 feet farther from their destination, it’s often a good idea to avoid construction traffic altogether.

Remember to be even more extra cautious if you choose to take the sidewalk. Motorists stuck waiting are prone to quickly turn off the main road and right into your path.

Henrietta + nighttime + construction = jump on the canal path as quickly as possible! 

5. Mixed use paths 

The long mixed use paths that may intersect your city like they do Rochester provide a great alternative to vehicular cycling. You’ll have to be aware of pedestrians, rollerbladers, unleashed dogs, woodchucks, etc. but oftentimes these paths are underutilized anyway. Unlike most sidewalks, mixed use paths are often specifically designated for bicycle use, but that doesn’t make them any more safe when you cross paths with motor traffic.

And in conclusion 

So those are my top five reasons for getting out of the way of cars and into the way of pedestrians. Like many things in the world of cycling, common sense and caution will go a long way. Do you have any good reasons for breaking the cardinal rule of vehicular cycling? Object to any of mine? Let me know in the comments.

It seems like I’ve been away from RocBike for a long time – and yes, it’s been a couple weeks since I even checked in. But my absence was for a good cause: a trip to Italy, with lots of biking there (I brought my Dahon folder, which fits easily into a couple suitcases for air travel) and now some impressions to pass along.

My trip took me to several northern Italian cities: first to Modena, home of fabled tenor Luciano Pavarotti, almost equally fabled soprano Mirella Freni, and oddly fabled, expensive, gas-guzzling Maserati, whose headquarters are not far from downtown. Modena’s population is about 177,000, and I’ll bet the figure includes about 40,000 regular cyclists. As in many European communities, regular Modenites in huge numbers get around by bike, doing the shopping, dropping around to the caffe/café, going on dates (two per bike, and not on tandems), and otherwise getting through the day. If you wander the deliciously narrow and pedestrian-friendly streets and alleyways of the old parts of town, you see hundreds of bikes locked up everywhere. The bikes tend to be utilitarian, affordable models, some of them decades old and well-worn. (It’s only out in countryside, on the beautiful but narrow ancient roadways, that you see helmeted, bright-jerseyed riders on fancy road bikes.) Partly for economic reasons, and helped along by a human-scaled urbanscape and bike-friendly traditions, Italians depend heavily on appropriate transport technology.

The principle held true for two other communities I visited: the small city of Vignola, mid-sized Parma, and sizable Bologna (ca. 400,000 people in the urban core). I recommend all three to bikers and walkers – again, it’s the traditional urbanscape that makes the difference. Bologna, with plenty of piazzas and 38 km of “arcades,” i.e. Gothic-arched covered walkways, is especially attractive to pedestrians. I think this town’s Renaissance and Baroque architects could teach our RenSquare planners a thing or three. (And isn’t it odd that not long ago, Rochester was courting Parma interests for a deal to redevelop Midtown Plaza – without so much as considering the physical features that makes the city of Parma a resounding success?)

Not that Italy is a total biking Paradiso. At least in the Emilia Romagna region that I toured, the secondary highways are miserably clogged with trucks and cars moving at excessive speed, and there’s precious little space for bikers or pedestrians. And in the suburban zones, you see many working-class cyclists pushed to the margins, same as you see around home. But in Italian town centers, everything’s rosy: ample bike paths and lanes, urban traffic that’s respectful of cyclists, and an official commitment to alternative transportation. Modena also has begun a bike-borrowing/rental program. You just put down a deposit and get a key, then access publicly-owned bikes at any number of parking stations around town. There’s no fee for the first three days – perfect for travelers, though I must say the bikes themselves are a little stodgy in design, solid and serviceable but not suitable for long rides.

Well, I’m now coping with transpo-culture shock. I went to the Rochester Public Market this morning and did a few errands. Amazing how few bikes you see around the market (I counted about a dozen), considering the huge turnout (thousands on- or just off-site) on a Saturday morning. Part of this is the durability of the Auto Craze, part is the result of the Rochester’s failure to create the infrastructure that would seduce people into going to the market by bike. Why, the city only recently added another parking lot, this one on Railroad St. And still – as any competent traffic planner should have foreseen - the cars and “light trucks” jam the access roads and turn the market grounds into ground zero for air pollution and conflicts with mere persons who make such daring, self-indulgent moves as trying to cross a street! Maybe RocBikers, joined by Critical Massers and others, should target the market for some kind of actions. City Hall shouldn’t be allowed to ignore or downplay bike issues any longer. (I note with pleasure the departure of Dumbass Supremo Steve Minarik, the Republican boss who did something to offend everyone – and did everything to maintain the status quo that barely acknowledges alternative transport. Not that I expect M’s replacement will be much better.)

One last note: Italian towns also are home to vast numbers of motorbikes and scooters. This was especially evident in Bologna. But the odd thing is, I didn’t hear any straight-pipe monstrosities like those that take over Rochester-area roads every summer. Interpret that as you will.

Caitlin and I started bikepooling together last summer, back when we both had jobs on the other side of the city. Now that I work out of my home, I ride with Caitlin for the pleasure of her company.

Bikepooling rocks.

I’m typing this in Blue Smoke, the barbeque joint above the Jazz Standard on E 27th St in Manhattan. I’m in town to interview saxophonist John Ellis for my show The Jazz Session.

This is the first time I’ve been in the city since becoming a regular bicycle rider, and thus the first time I’ve really looked at the city with cyclist’s eyes. Let me tell you, you’ve really gotta want it to ride here.

I’m amazed at the bike handling skills of the messengers I see, and amused at the lack of skills of the pseudo-messengers. Yes, it’s cool to have more folks on bikes, but some of these riders are asking to be killed.

I also got a good laugh out of several of the bike lanes, which are little more than additional parking spaces for cars and delivery vans. Not a new observation, to be sure. In fact, BSNYC has written about it several times.

All that said, I’d love to try riding a bike here. I almost brought my bike today, but decided not to add one more complication to the joy of driving here and navigating to the club. (Tip: OnStar is useless in Manhattan. At least mine was.)

I did spot one thing I’ve never seen mentioned — a cycling map of New York City. It was outside the Barnes and Noble in Union Square, on one wall of a covered bike rack. The map shows various “bicycle-friendly” routes through the city, and it also shows the location of quite a few bike shops. I forgot that I had my camera with me, or I would have taken a picture.

Anyway, my hat’s off to all the folks who make riding a bike here part of their regular day. Huzzah!

So here’s me, modeling my new Yehuda Moon t-shirt. And by “modeling” I mean “wearing” as opposed to “causing to look attractive and therefore enticing you into buying.” That said, the shirts are cool, the comic strip is cooler, and I recommend outfitting your cycling wardrobe with one or two of these.

When the “model” isn’t tubby and hunched over, the shirt looks rather more like this:

Here’s the link to the swag at CafePress.com, and here’s the official Yehuda Moon site.

I would also like to point out that I took this shot in front of my 1957 Raleigh Sprite, thus enhancing my Yehudaness.

I love Bike Snob NYC for many reasons, one of which is writing this good:

But as cruel a fate as that may be, he knew perfectly well when he swung a Docker-clad leg over that gel saddle, flipped up the kickstand with the heel of his Rockport, and set out on his way to the comic book store that he risked feeling the cruel sting of Anserine ire.

(Read the rest of this post.)

And lest you think I’m making fun of other cyclists, I will come clean and admit that while I don’t wear Dockers, I have flipped up my kickstand with my Rockport on the way to the comic book shop.

If you’d like even more BSNYC, give a listen to his appearance on our podcast, The RocBike Review.

Today I went to the annual meeting of the New York Bicycling Coalition to do a presentation on bike blogging … and I ended up on the board. More on that later, but you can see pictures from the event over at Fort Orange Cycling.

Thanks to Bruce at Scenic Route for the tip!

No, not cooking a bicycle. Let’s let Darren explain:

I run the website at www.bicycletouringpro.com … and this week I am doing an interview with a German cookbook author about cooking while traveling by bike. We’re going to be talking about the different types of stoves and fuels… and a bunch of other cooking related issues.

I thought that you might be interested in hearing the interview … and maybe your blog’s readers would be interested in hearing the interview as well? It’s free … and it should be good!

So if this sounds like something your readers might be interested in, please direct them to this page.

All the details can be found there.

It’s going to be a good interview, so I hope you’ll check it out!

Thanks for your time… and keep up the good work!

Darren Alff

I received this message from Ryan Tucker:

Over the past few years, I’ve had a rather cyclic bicycle operation:

1. Spent $300-$500 on a nice shiny new bike.
2. Enjoy the bike greatly.
3. Find bike missing one day.
4. Have bike no more.

   This spring, I’ve decided that trying to fix step #3 is impossible so I might as well make step #1 more affordable by getting one or two used bicycles.

   Would you know of a good source for good used bicycles in the Rochester area? I’m not looking for a competition-grade multi-thousand dollar luxury bike, but I don’t want a rusted-out Huffy either.

   Any pointers would be appreciated :-) Thanks! -rt

The local Craigslist bicycle section is the first place I’d try. Anybody else got any ideas? You can leave a comment or contact Ryan directly at rtucker (at) gmail (dot) com.

Photo by Joey Mac

So.

Over the next weeks and months, I’m probably going to write here about my wife’s and my attempt to get back to the values we started with as a married couple. Ever since we had our two lovely boys, I think we’ve been sliding away from the course we had charted as we are being slowly but surely co-opted by modern cultural “norms.”

For months now, I’ve had this really positive, hard-to-pin-down feeling that something good is coming. I told Jen then other day that I feel like I’m simultaneously riding many tributaries on the way toward a great river, and that once I hit the main body of water things will be clearer and brighter and better. I think the way to get there — the way to find the river — is to take intentional action, not just to be swept along by the current.

One intentional action we’re going to take is to severely limit our car usage on the way to eliminating it entirely. I have a car that’s provided by my work (as I’ve written about here and here) and we also own a 2001 Subaru Forester that’s a year from being paid off. I think we’re going to get rid of our car and park my work car except when I need it for work, which is very seldom. In addition to the workers I represent in downtown Albany, I also represent two hotels in Schenectady. I discovered that it’s a fairly easy bike trip to Schenectady if you go straight there, so that cuts out another need for the car. And I can take my weekly trip to Saratoga Springs by train and then walk a mile to the office.

Anyway, I don’t have this all fleshed out in my mind yet. But good things are afoot. Positive change is happening. Life is starting to come into focus in a way it hasn’t before. And bicycling is part of this new world.

Whenever I want to remind myself about the beauty of the bicycling lifestyle, I ride my bike. And I watch this:

Photo by Joey Mac

So.

Over the next weeks and months, I’m probably going to write here about my wife’s and my attempt to get back to the values we started with as a married couple. Ever since we had our two lovely boys, I think we’ve been sliding away from the course we had charted as we are being slowly but surely co-opted by modern cultural “norms.”

For months now, I’ve had this really positive, hard-to-pin-down feeling that something good is coming. I told Jen then other day that I feel like I’m simultaneously riding many tributaries on the way toward a great river, and that once I hit the main body of water things will be clearer and brighter and better. I think the way to get there — the way to find the river — is to take intentional action, not just to be swept along by the current.

One intentional action we’re going to take is to severely limit our car usage on the way to eliminating it entirely. I have a car that’s provided by my work (as I’ve written about here and here) and we also own a 2001 Subaru Forester that’s a year from being paid off. I think we’re going to get rid of our car and park my work car except when I need it for work, which is very seldom. In addition to the workers I represent in downtown Albany, I also represent two hotels in Schenectady. I discovered that it’s a fairly easy bike trip to Schenectady if you go straight there, so that cuts out another need for the car. And I can take my weekly trip to Saratoga Springs by train and then walk a mile to the office.

Anyway, I don’t have this all fleshed out in my mind yet. But good things are afoot. Positive change is happening. Life is starting to come into focus in a way it hasn’t before. And bicycling is part of this new world.

Whenever I want to remind myself about the beauty of the bicycling lifestyle, I ride my bike. And I watch this:

From Monty Python, via the fine folks at Urban Velo: