Sunset Park in Brooklyn, near the scene of today’s incident.

Came as close to dying today as ever. Biking to a musician’s place for an interview. In the lane, waiting to turn left. Oncoming van waiting to turn right. From behind the van, sports car comes at me full speed, wrong lane, about to hit me head on. If I hadn’t been over to the left of the lane to turn, I’d be dead. He was a moron, but also a good car handler, because he steered around me, missing me by 6-12 inches.

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.

Note the precedence of the Canadian place names in the above. That’s only fair, since all of Erie’s N shore is within Canada, and also because I think that country as well as the Province of Ontario have generally done better by the lake than has the US, which peppered the S shore with more industry and fewer public parks than the lakeshore deserves. Of course, the US side is dominated by an industrial history long as your brawny arm: steel, autos, chemicals, alloys, you name it, in metro areas from Buffalo to Erie, Pa., to Cleveland and Sandusky and Toledo. By contrast, the Ontario shore is a string of small port communities, including Port Colborne at the S end on the Welland Canal, Nanticoke (home to that humongous coal-fired power plant that’s now pumping ozone our way during the heat wave), and Leamington (tomato capital of Canada, and just about the southernmost point of that eminently boreal nation).

Try Long Point Provincial Park when you get the time; it also could be justly be called Long Beach: a truly impressive stretch of bright sand littered with just enough driftwood to be decorative, and something resembling real surf when the wind’s up, as it generally is. The day we were there was refreshingly chilly at waterside; I spent an hour snoozing under some weather-stunted trees that provided just enough shade to keep me from getting cooked under the strong sun. I was a wimp about getting all the way into the cold water – what happened to shallow Lake Erie’s reputation for warming up quickly? Must have been one of those wave-driven temperature inversions.

The region’s got history and social issues, too: my obsessions, in other words, the stuff that always keeps me from having an unalloyed good time. But anyway: legendary liberal Keynesian economist John Kenneth Galbraith grew up in Iona Center, an Essex County hamlet just a stone’s throw from our route. And today, the excesses of globalized capitalism that JKG warned of (and that his son Jamie, of the U of Texas, warns of even more strongly and radically today) have brought many no-doubt-underpaid Latin American workers to the greenhouses that now provide Canada with cheap tomatoes and flowers, etc. Turns out Leamington, a lot closer to post-industrial Detroit that Iona Center ON in more ways than one, has Canada’s highest density of Latinos; we saw many obviously low-income workers getting around the rural roads and village streets by bike. We should have connected more directly with them in a gesture of solidarity, I suppose. But we were perhaps too fixated on heading west for the start of the Social Forum. Such are the contradictions…

My mind is still back in Detroit. Somehow I got more out of the Tent City experience there of solidarity amidst the urban decay-slash-renaissance. Official Detroit is American capitalism writ small – and the smallness is moral as well as geographical. The city has been left to Smith’s invisible hand pretty much, though I’m persuaded after my Michigan visit that, just as Joe Stiglitz says, the hand isn’t invisible, it’s not there at all. The “surplus populations” of the US are being left to rot, and you can see real live human evidence of this every morning, afternoon and night along Woodward and other downtown Detroit arterials.

Case in point: We were having breakfast in a greasy spoon one morning when a woman came by, obviously mentally ill, and took off practically all her clothes, uttered some curses to persons unseen, dressed herself again and went about picking up litter along the sidewalk. When a crew from the restaurant pushed a loaded coffee cart out the front door, probably heading to some catering gig, the woman approached them. In a short drama we watched from inside the place, a drama that obviously has gone through many rehearsals, the guy pushing the cart drove the woman away by spritzing her on the face with what I hope was only water. In a civilized country, women in such distress get real social services that keep them from being “refreshed” in such a manner. Maybe our nation will someday be civilized. But the way things are going, don’t hold your breath (or do hold your breath as you get spritzed politically).

In my next post – after I can mentally break away from the contradictions and conundrums of Detroit – I’ll jump to our biking experience in Southwestern Ontario, specifically the route from Sarnia to Stratford and beyond.

It’s not just the blue water, though, that makes for beauty. The shoreline between Fort Erie and Point Pelee is verdant, slightly rolling (unlike the back country here, which is quite flat), and festooned with new wineries, apparently prosperous small farms, and patches of hardwoods. hardwoods, including deep-rooted old oaks, were taken down by microbursts and tornadoes recently; the towns around Leamington are still dealing with cleanup, and it’s remarkable how selective the wild winds were: you’ll see a few acres of trees devastated, and acreage nearby almost untouched – hardly a twig torn off.

There are far too many lakeside cottages cluttering up the fringes of beach, but still enough openings to preserve the viewscape, that sometimes underappreciated part of the public domain. Speaking of views, Ontario and regional municipalities here have been installing wind farms at a rapid pace. Parts of the region reminded me on northern Germany, with white-shafted and _bladed windmills dominating the skyline. They look a lot better here than they do, say, in the hilly Southern Tier (NYS) town of Cohocton, where they seem like vertical insults on the ridgelines, and banks of intrusive red warning lights at night. (You might have guessed my support for wind development is qualified.)

One thing’s beyond debate: the Ontario windmills should presage the long-awaited shutdown of coal-fired electric plants like the one at Nanticoke, a major source of ground-level ozone, etc., that plagues a wide swath of points east, including Toronto, Buffalo, Rochester, and the rural areas between. I seem to recall that Toronto now gets more than 100 ozone alert days per year, thanks not just to Nanticoke, but to other obsolete, poisonous coal plants like Huntley in Tonawanda and the Dunkirk plant on Erie’s south shore. So the US is doing its part, too!

Nanticoke is also ugly as sin. What a contrast it makes with so many other features of the north shore.

Next post: I’ll finally get to the US Social Forum and its biking connections – not to mention the eminently bikeable city of Detroit and its eco-transportation potential.

-Jack

Presented by the Rochester Regional Community Design Center
and Empire State Future.

The Dryden Theater at the George Eastman House
900 East Avenue, Rochester, NY 14607

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.

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!

First, let me say that the waterfront is beautiful. Lots of grass and open space. People having fun. I saw people barefoot in the grass. Would never see this in Albany, where there is broken glass and garbage everywhere, whether it’s paved or not. In Burlington there are things to do on the waterfront, places to eat, places to shop.

I saw every kind of bike on the path. Girls in sun dresses on beach cruisers. Young guys on racing bikes. Kids on mountain bikes. I saw tandems. I saw whole families biking together. People were nice. There was a skate park with skaters and kids on bmx bikes doing tricks. I saw a bike polo game getting started. The only thing I didn’t see was a tall bike.

The bike path is clean and well maintained. There are maps every few miles. I saw things painted on the trail that said “cycle the city.” I could not help but think, this is what biking in Albany could be like.

First, let me say that I did not have my studded tires on. I will blame the weather people for that. For weeks they’ve been saying “omg blizzard we’re all going to die” and I’ll put on my snow tires. And then it won’t snow. At all. And then I have to take the tires off again. Which means I’ve wasted two hours of my life because somebody on tv lied to me. Sigh. So this time I called their bluff and did not put my snow tires on. More on this later.

I did have waterproof clothes and a ton of lights.

So we start from the bottom of Orange Street, which wasn’t bad. It was less than an inch of snow, really. After a block I turn right and climb a steep but short hill that is all snow. My back tire is slipping but I keep it upright and make it to the top to wait for the light. Studded tires would’ve been nice here, but the hill was short so…

The light turns green and I go left up Clinton. The conditions here are slush-tacular. The bike lane is at least visible, if not clear, and I easily pedal my way up the hill. At one point I think to myself “all you haters can eat my slushy wake” and then remind myself to breathe and pay attention.

I take a left on Lake, which is pretty clear. I cross Central and then take a right on Brandon. Brandon is a little one way street with no traffic. I go two blocks in peace, slowly cruising through the coating of snow and trying to enjoy what winter there is.

Left on Ontario. I have to pull over to let a bunch of cars by. No biggie. The first part of Ontario is a mess, in my opinion. It looked like they plowed it, but all they had really done with turn snow and slush into a layer of ice. I wasn’t having any problem with it, taking it slow and steady, keeping my bike straight and moving forward without any sudden movements. Cars, on the other hand, were not having as good a time as I was. Tires spinning all over the place.

The second part of Ontario, which would be after Madison, had some nice wide patches of fresh snow, so I stuck to that. Downhill past the Playdium, slowly, letting the hurried drivers go do whatever it is they’re in such a hurry to do.

Right on New Scotland I pick up a set of tire tracks. This is like one cyclist unintentionally leaving a long greeting in the snow. New Scotland is pretty heavily trafficked so it was clear enough. I took a left near Sycamore, and so did the tire tracks I was following. Those were some skinny tires.

My neighbor said “doesn’t matter what the weather is, you’re on your bike.” I replied, “hell yeah. This is the most fun I’ve had in a week.” And then I banked up the driveway. Strangely enough, the driveway had 3 inches of fresh powder in it.

A really enjoyable ride. There were only two or three spots I thought my studded tires would’ve been nice, but I didn’t regret calling the Weather Channel’s bluff this time. It was also nice to have an excuse to ride slowly, and just enjoy riding my bike, and enjoy winter.

This is the
Frederick Douglass Susan B. Anthony Memorial Bridge, named after two famous Rochesterians. I find it beautiful every day, but especially today with the frost on the ground.

And this is another view, looking towards downtown.

On this crisp morning, I feel incredibly blessed to bike to work.

And then the summer just took off. I apologize for the lack of posts,
I rarely maintain my own blog, let alone the Bicycle Coalition blog.                                                  Then I was invited to do a rotating post on the Times Union blog.
Well, since I know most of the other bloggers,
and it only requires two posts a month, I think I can handle that, maybe.

Here it is.
Enjoy, link, and leave feedback or comments.
And I’ll try to not be such a stranger
(even though I do stop in everyday).

http://blog.timesunion.com/bike/the-cycling-dead/125/

From today’s New York Times:

It took a few miles to work the kinks out of my legs and churn up the first hill, but the payoff was spectacular. Lake Champlain sparkled blue in the distance, with the Adirondack Mountains rising stately in the background. Lush green hills were peppered with red silos, livestock and a white steeple far off. And then there were the trees, a patchwork of scarlet, orange and yellow that transformed a vista into something so perfect it almost didn’t look real.

• Read the story: “Pedal Peepers In Vermont”

The NYT also published a piece today by a reporter who tried out a pedicab for a day:

• Three Wheels Through the Park

A couple of weeks ago I took a bike ride near Holley, along the Erie Canal. This portion of the trail is not used much, and neither are many of the buildings, it appears.

I highly recommend that you make a day of it and take the kids to Hurd Orchards, one of western New York’s treasures. In the fall they serve apple pie which is yummy and filling enough to be your lunch.

Here are a few pictures from a couple of years ago. I get no credit for those adorable kids.

An evening scene in Asakusa, an area in the Shitamachi district of Tokyo. / Hiroko Masuike for The New York Times

The New York Times featured this cool story about taking a bike tour along Japan’s famed Yamanote (ya-ma-no-tay) train line. I used to ride this line as part of my commute the second time I lived in Japan. When I worked for Bloomberg TV and Radio in Tokyo, my office was right in the area on this map where it says “Marunouchi Business District.”

Here’s the story:

• No Squishing: Biking a Tokyo Rail Line

My feet were getting too cold. I couldn’t find any combo of shoes and socks that worked for me (out of the pile of shoes and socks that I already owned.) And there’s something weird about being on a long ride and not being sure if you can’t feel your toes because you’ve been in the wrong position too long or because your toes are frostbitten and dead.

I rode 30 miles home from Rochester in sleet one evening and somewhere around mile 22 I started worrying that my toes were dead, that I would pull off my boot and to find something horrible like what I have seen on shows about Mt. Everest trips gone horribly wrong or Arctic expeditions where no one made it out alive. My mind wanders funny places when I’m riding a long time.

I really do want to ride year ’round but I think I need to find the right gear combination for me. I just use regular platform pedals so I don’t have to find something that will wrap around cycling shoes but I have to find something that is unstoppably warm.

I thought back to when I was a kid and spent hours in the snow. My feet didn’t fall off then. Mostly it was many layers of socks, plus bread bags over the socks stuffed into boots that were too big for me. Did other people’s parents send them outside like that or is my family crazy?

I never did try the bread bag thing last year though I probably should have. I think it was more the cold wind cutting through my damp shoes that did me in.

Anyone have any recommendations or thoughts on good footwear for biking in winter? I know it’s early, but it’s on my mind at the moment.

More than one mile of the road will be upgraded, from the Marketplace Mall to under the Interstate 390 overpass. In addition to a third lane in both directions, there will be space for cyclists, sidewalks for pedestrians, and a median which will keep cars from crossing several lanes of traffic in order to make a left-hand turn.

As a cyclist, when I must travel on Jefferson Road I stick mostly to the parking lots, hopping onto the road for short stretches when there is no other option. I don’t know how they’ll handle such a heavy traffic load in a way that’s safe for non-motorists, but maybe they’ll use some ideas that have been proposed for places like New York City.

So I’m in Philly. Well technically I’m in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, home of Montgomery County Community College and the temporary home of the 2009 LIVESTRONG Challenge Ride – Philly edition.

On my way out of town this morning, I stopped by Eastern Mountain Sports because they sell Sigg bottles and I needed two new ones for the ride. The guy at the counter said, “You’re heading to Philly, right?” Apparently he’d visited RocBike.com and recognized me.

(A small aside: A woman named Paula in Albany has a Surly Big Dummy! My son Bernie and I were at the Downtube and saw it. She came out and noticed my Packet Boat and we chatted. She also knew who I was from reading this site. Paula agreed to become a contributor, too. Which, with the RocBike Curse, means she’ll soon stop writing about cycling completely. Sorry, Paula!)

Anway…

I arrived here in PA about 4 p.m. and headed straight for LIVESTRONG Village, the assemblage of vendors and nonprofits who surround the registration area. Recent rains had turned the ground into what Team Fatty Philly Captain “Philly Jen” described as a “mosh pit.” But everyone was in good spirits, and I saw several other members of Team Fatty while I was registering. The registration process was very efficient. According to one person at the site, there are more than 800 volunteers signed up for today and tomorrow to make the whole event run.

I got a nice bag o’ swag — hat, t-shirt, messenger bag, water bottle, and maybe a few other things that I have yet to dig out of the yellow LIVESTRONG bag. By the way, if you don’t like yellow, I recommend avoiding these rides. Everything is yellow.

The Team Fatty event at the Doubletree Hotel was running until 5 p.m. I made it with minutes to spare, just in time to meet Philly Jen (who saw me walk in and yelled “Jason!” — I guess there’s a shortage of chubby bald guys on our team) and another guy from Albany who wasn’t either Bob or me. Nor was he anyone I’d seen before. Small world. Apparently the Doubletree had booted out half of Team Fatty citing “water damage” on two floors. Rumor has it that the damage was more likely caused by overbooking, given that Team Fatty was booted out of another hotel owned by the same company at another recent Challenge ride. Sounds like the airline industry.

In search of some way to kill the hours between 5 p.m. and 5 a.m., when we all meet for breakfast, I drove around a bit. I found a park advertising a free concert at 6 p.m., so I followed the winding road back to the park … where a small sign said, “Concert Canceled.” I decided instead to eat dinner. I tried hard to avoid a chain restaurant, driving around until I spotted a big sign for Bombay High Indian Cuisine. I pulled in to the plaza to find that the highway sign and plaza sign had been installed, but the seats, tables, lights, kitchen and staff had yet to arrive. Sigh.

I ended up eating sushi at Benihana. I can’t believe I just typed that, and if you ever tell anyone, I’ll deny it. After three years in Japaan, I’m a real snob about Japanese food, and Benihana to me is like the Taco Bell of Japanese food. But I ate it and was grateful for some air conditioning and green tea.

The author at Barnes & Noble, delaying his date with the Hotel Subaru

I’m typing this in a Barnes and Noble because I’m staying tonight in the Hotel Subaru, and it doesn’t have wi-fi. In fact, it no longer has XM radio either, because some damned squirrels chewed through the antenna cable. I must say, the Hotel Subaru seemed much more inviting when I was tossing my sleeping bag in the back of the car this morning than it does now. Not least because my Xtracycle is also in the hotel’s one room, and it’s a very big bike. There’s a lovely thunderstorm now, too, so if this is my last blog entry, you’ll know why.

(I’ve been making an audio recording of the trip, too, so look for an episode of the RocBike Review after the ride.

When my partner and I go on vacations, we always take Zoe (pictured above). We also always want to get out on our bikes. This presents a problem, because it is always too hot to leave her in our car, and the other campers wouldn’t appreciate our leaving her in our tent. We know that she would bark the whole time. Our previous solution has been doggie day care. but this year, I finally convinced her that we should get a doggie bike basket. If you want to bring your canine companion with you, this is a good solution for a small dog. (Zoe weighs 8 pounds.)

Tanya had her handlebars shortened in order to fit her better, so the basket only fits on my bike. It really didn’t slow me down much at all and I kept up with her pretty well, especially surprising since she’s generally faster than me. Zoe was unsure about it at first, but seemed to settle in pretty quickly.

So far, I’ve only taken it on bike trails and side streets. I would be hesitant to bike on a busy and/or hilly road with it, because the extra weight on the bars takes some getting used to, and I felt like it slowed my reaction time.

A great bonus is that it seems impossible for another rider to pass without smiling and saying, “Aawwwwww,” with the inflection rising at the end.

I’ve started riding my bike again to get ready for my Livestrong Challenge ride in Philly this August. (Please donate if you can.) This week, after many months, I also resumed commuting by bike again.

I began working for Capital Region BOCES earlier this year, and those offices are farther away than my union shops were. It’s about 8 miles from my house to BOCES HQ, where I work two days a week, and about 12 miles from my house to the school district office where I work the other three days.

Today I rode from home to the school district in Selkirk, NY, and back for the first time, about 24 miles. I took some photos on the way home.

This is my favorite sign in Selkirk:

From 144 Commute

I don’t know who came up with the idea of putting golf balls and rhubarb together, but it’s a classic.

Most of my commute is on Route 144, a primarily rural route through some tiny places such as Cedar Hill. A couple miles into the ride home, I came upon these lions, liberated from either “Guy Park” or “Cuy Park.”

From 144 Commute

As you can see, the structure they now protect is not particularly imposing:

From 144 Commute

Further on up the road is the somewhat secluded site of the Glenmont Job Corps Academy:

From 144 Commute

I don’t know much about the Job Corps, but this comes from the Web site:

Job Corps is a free education and training program that helps young people learn a career, earn a high school diploma or GED, and find and keep a good job. For eligible youth at least 16 years of age, Job Corps provides the all-around skills needed to succeed in a career and in life.

You can find out more by visiting jobcorps.gov.

Most of the commute looks like this, plus a hill here and there:

From 144 Commute

And here’s a gratuitous picture of the Packet Boat, ready for action:

From 144 Commute

Sprinkled along 144 are forgotten houses like this one:

From 144 Commute

And here’s another wonderful sign. I like the idea of a wrathful Mother Nature:

From 144 Commute

A relic from a bygone error … I mean era:

From 144 Commute

I didn’t even know what this was at first, but it turned out to be a vintage electric car:

From 144 Commute

This is the bottom of the hill at Second Ave and Pearl. This is the start of 3/4 of a mile of climbing, much of it at a 7% grade. The picture doesn’t do it justice:

From 144 Commute

My legs were jelly at the end, but I made it the whole way.

It sure does feel good to be back on the bike.

The rest of the pictures from today’s ride are here.

I wholeheartedly recommend the d-i-y method, but if you want a slightly more expensive alternative that works out of the box, I recommend the gorilla pod (depending on the size and the size of your camera the stability will vary.) I always tie my camera strap to the handle bars for extra insurance but haven’t had any problems with it coming off… it just jiggles a bit.

I went out and did a loop around the neighboring block with my camera in video mode to test it out. It went pretty well. I did speed it up, compressing the 22 minute ride into less than 3 minutes, so in case you weren’t sure, I’m not actually a bike racing superhero.

Handlebar Cam video from a loop around my block>>

I plan to do some video of my commute now that all I have to do is slide the camera into the gorilla pod mount quick release thingy.

My rides home over the past couple of weeks have been exceedingly pleasant.

I attribute it to the power of RocBike.

On Saturday I started riding toward Geneva. My goal was to end up at the Geneva Bicycle Center. I needed a spare tube but mostly I thought I needed someplace to ride, a destination. It’s about 14 miles away so there and back seemed like it would be a good ride. I passed Cress road and started thinking that I’d never been down it & wasn’t sure where it went, made a u-turn and was off on a little explore. I covered a lot of uncharted territory in empty space between Lyons, Newark, and Phelps, an area formerly thought to be occupied only by sea monsters and steep hills. It turns out that the steep hills part is correct but the sea monsters were actually just cows. Lots and lots of cows.

I never did make it to the bike shop. I just wandered the back roads for a couple of hours until I remembered how little breakfast I’d eaten then spent another 40 minutes singing to myself about my plans to eat a sandwich while I tried to find my way home.

I never love biking more than when I’m exploring new territory… and there’s so much unexplored territory right under my nose even though I’ve lived here forever… well, almost forever. What’s hiding down that side street that you just cruise by every day?

Of course, this morning didn’t go perfectly. I felt like I was going so slow. I was operating in easier gears than usual. I was fighting imaginary headwinds. Somehow despite all that I was the first person at the bus stop. I was still the only person there when the bus pulled up. Both racks on the front were taken already so I resigned myself to wrestling with the luggage compartment. It seemed to be stuck & I thought it was locked but somehow I got it open… as soon as it opened I realized that this was not in fact the luggage compartment but the access panel for the engine or some other important mechanical bus stuff. And now, it wouldn’t close.

I don’t know if I opened the wrong panel because I was so tired or because I was approaching it from an odd angle.

The bus driver got off and was asking me how I got it open in the first place. He couldn’t get it closed either. I tried to help but that seemed futile so I put my bike in the real luggage compartment and then went back to attempting to help the bus driver. Then another cyclist rode up. This guy gets off after me… so I hauled my bike back out of the luggage compartment so he could put his in first and then shoved it back in and somehow the three of us managed to close the access panel.

I felt pretty cool right then.

Other than the bus fiasco it was a beautiful ride. I saw a king bird and was noticing just how thick the grass is and how green everything is all of a sudden. I love that bike commuting gets me out in to the world earlier than I would even think of leaving the house if I didn’t have a bus to catch. It’s a whole different world out there at 6 a.m. The light changes dramatically as the seasons change but it’s always a quieter, crisper, world that early in the morning, and it feels like it’s all mine.

SO BACK TO OUR TOPIC.
For those that are LCI certified, by-the-book cyclists,
I ‘m sorry to offend, but it’s something I naturally do….

There’s been alot of debate lately on every blog on:
cyclists running red lights,
cyclists running stop signs,
cyclists passing cars on the right at red lights
(which happens to be my everyday doing)
and cyclists needing to abide by all laws.

UMMMMMM, wait for it….
NO!
There I said it!
I’m not irresponsible,
and I certainly don’t advocate breaking laws,
or pose a ‘do as I say, not as I do’ rule.

I ADVOCATE ARRIVING TO HOME/WORK ALIVE!

And until motorists respect other roadway users,
I’ll ride on the offense.
Passing stopped cars on the right?
It’s safer for me to start the green light up front,
rather than be in the middle of rush hour traffic
trying to pass me while I start off ten cars behind.

When it’s bumper to bumper and at a stand still,
and there’s a wide shoulder onthe right?
SORRY! I’m gonna get on that and keep moving!
Who’s going to sit behind a tailpipe waiting in traffic?
You’re an angry motorist? Well then, get a bike!
Surprisingly, in town you can beat traffic!

Lastly:
- a bad cyclist will do less harm than a bad driver.
- since driver’s are unwilling to share the road, and
abide by the laws, I WILL DO WHATEVER I NEED TO
SURVIVE. The laws were not written for cyclists safety.
- If motorists want us to abide by ALL traffic laws,
THEN I’M TAKING THE WHOLE LANE LIKE A MOTORCYCLE!
oh wait, they don’t want THAT.
- So it’s a double standard? Yeah, I’m not buying what they’re selling.

This past Friday was Bike To Work Day and I got to pretend I was purposely recruiting other cyclists to bike commuting in honor of the day. In reality it just happened to work out that the person who has been saying to me “Yeah I’d really like to try that.” for, mmm, 2 years just happened to cave to my “How ’bout tomorrow? How ’bout Thursday then? Friday?”

She could do Friday. We agreed that I would get off the bus early and ride to meet her & her husband at Perinton park & we would all ride together from there. They showed me some crazy shortcuts through parking lots and nice wooded trails in East Rochester that would be useful to know but that I will never in a million years be able to remember. We got to work and she bought me a coffee and I saw a cockroach crawling through the hole of a blueberry bagel in the bakery case, not relevant to the story, except that I decided I didn’t want a bagel.

In late spring & summer we have half days on Fridays so we met up at the bike rack around 12:30 and after some lunch we biked over to Pittsford to pick up the canal trail. She rode with me well past her house. Once we got past the crowded parts of the towpath I got to try out her recumbent for a few miles. It took me a while to even get moving but once I got the hang of it, I was laughing like a maniac because I felt sort of like I was in Mario Kart and that someone would start shooting giant turtle shells at me, also I felt like it might flop over at any moment. It was very comfortable & fun & I would try it again. I don’t know what everybody’s got against recumbents except for the weird need to classify everyone as one kind of cyclist or another. I don’t think I’ll rush out to buy one though–I’m still happy with my current bike (mostly).

I’m not  sure my friend is totally sold on bike commuting as a practical option. Historically she’s been more of a leisure time cyclist. She told me a couple of times that I needed gel shorts and cleats. I’m sure those things are awesome and maybe I would be able to ride my whole commute without bus assistance if I had them, but I like to being able to ride without a lot of specialized gear. Just get on the bike and go and be able to get off the bike and walk without a major wardrobe change. But then again maybe I’m doing that cyclist classification thing too.

Anyway, I know she had fun and she wants to do it again this Friday so maybe she’s sold after all.

1–Why do you hang out there? It’s stinky, full of broken glass, and creepy. Then again, maybe that’s why you hang out there.

2–How many of you are there? Although I have never seen any one individual more than once, and you are of different ages and races, I must assume that you all belong to the same tribe, as your behavior is unfailingly obnoxious, and at least 5 of you are there EVERY afternoon/evening when I bike home, regardless of the time.

3–I hate to be the one to break this to you, but…”Hey, baby, can I get a riiiide?” does not actually inspire women to cancel their plans for the evening, do a 180 on their bike, and jump your bones. (p.s. Nor is it particularly original.)

4–Whether out of aggressiveness or cluelessness, it’s just not charming when you hog the whole trail. Would it really kill you to move over, for just a second, so that I can pass?

5–I would like you to know that I plan to continue to take this route. For one thing, alternate routes involve alarming amounts of cars anxious to escape their work days and head home. For another, I don’t think you’re really dangerous…you just want to display your machismo so your buddies don’t notice your inadequacies.

Finally, you don’t get to hog the trail. I have just as much right to be there as you.

Sincerely,

Every-cyclist-(especially female)-that-passes-by-you

I showed up for the group ride. I watched the people coming and going on their boats.

Nobody showed up, so I took off on my own. It took me about 40 minutes to get there, and I felt like I was “booking.” The Corning Trail was like running a gauntlet of bugs. I couldn’t keep my head up because they’d get in my mouth, nose, and eyes. I could hear them pinging off my helmet, and feel them getting stuck in the hair on my arms. Ew.

The valet parking left a little to be desired. But then, maybe I was just too early. Still, it’s nice to see people’s bikes.

Troy Bicycle Rescue was raffling off this sweet cruiser bike.

Eventually the movies started. They were wonderful. There really was something for everyone. Monty Python. Footage of unicyclists in an ice race in Schenectady. A bit about not doping in bike racing. Women biking across the country, or cutting down mountain trails. DIY bike repair. Everything.

My favorite was “Ski Boys” by Benny Zenga. It made me want to be a kid again. You can watch that one here.

Then the ride home. I got stopped on 6th by some young guys who loved the MonkeyLectric lights on my bike. Perhaps it’s racist of me to say this, but white people do not appreciate the glory of LEDs that make a pattern when they spin around. I rode home alone. Going through Menands was wonderful. The traffic was light, the street lights were on. I just took the whole lane and sped along. I rode with no hands for blocks and blocks, my windbreaker flapping like a flag.

More pics here.

Ride to work
First day in the seat since my whiplash injury.
A few aches, but I’m feeling okay.

Ride home
Three teenage guys are blocking the path.
Two move, but one stays square in the middle and looks me right in the eyes.
I know a challenge when I see one,
and I’m not in the mood for it.
There’s room for me to pass, but barely.
As I pass, I sarcastically say, “thanks for moving.”
Not really smart.
But ignoring men who harass me gets old.
The guy mocks me, “thanks for moving.”
On a good day, I figure I can out-bike someone who’s bikeless.
But my first day in the seat, with an achy back, is not really my best day.
I’m a little concerned they’ll take chase.
I look in my rear view mirror. No sign of them.
I hear “Fuck you!” yelled at my back.
I want to flip them off, but I refrain.

I start to fume, reflecting on every rude act I’ve experienced or heard about over the past few weeks.
I’m pretty sure that the phrase, “Kids these days,” pops in my head.

As I near my home, I see a boy on his bike, meandering along the sidewalk.
He cheerfully yells out, “Hello!”
I say hello, though not so cheerfully.
Undaunted, he says, “Nice day for a bike ride!”
Smiling now, I say, “Yes, it is!”

Ride to yoga class
Feeling stronger now.
I come upon a couple of young boys on their bikes.
One says hello.
The other rides up alongside me.
I say, “are you gonna race me?”
He smiles and starts pedaling.
I shift my gears and start to pull ahead.
He says, “Oh, you’ve got gears, that’s why you’re faster.”
I smile and keep moving.

Ride home
Twilight.
Sounds of the neighborhood as I pass by.

Yep, nice day for a bike ride.

Seriously. How hard is it to put in a bike rack?

If you’re a Rochestarian you’ve probably already seen some of their work; Marlene posts her art at Mother Popcorn and Peter is over at But I’m a wizard!.

An organized group of off-road cyclists, the product of years of passionate but disorganized efforts, seems determined to open a couple, and perhaps eventually all of the Monroe County Parks trails to “shared use” by mountain bikers. A draft Master Plan regarding the county parks around the rim of Irondequoit Bay is rapidly moving toward adoption – so rapidly as to arouse suspicions of insider influence. Among other things, the plan would legalize mountain biking, within stated limits, in Tryon and Irondequoit Bay West parks. I say “legalize” rather than “introduce” because rogue cyclists long ago invaded these and other county parks. I regularly see these “enthusiasts” in Highland, the most urban park in the system, where I’ve come close to being run over by off-trail slalom freaks. And just last week, on one of my regular strolls there, I paused to tamp down a gash left in the wet soil of the Pinetum by a lugged tire powered by some Lug Nut. And as for Tryon Park – why, to hike there is to enter a laboratory of off-road-bike-wrought destruction.

Well, my purpose here isn’t to rant, though a little bit of that feels mighty good. No, I want to enlist bicyclists of conscience in an environmentalist campaign to limit mountain biking in the parks, preserve the fragile park habitats and ambience, and prevent unpleasant or even dangerous interactions of hikers and bikers on narrow trails. Bikes are vehicles, and they’re not appropriate “sharers” of walking trails, even on durable soils. It should be possible to create special-use areas on appropriate sites (newly purchased parklands, anyone?) for mountain bikes, but that’s not what the Master Plan is focused on, nor is that what the off-roaders seem to desire. In any case, the county may take irreversible, or at least difficult-to-reverse, action on the plan very soon. So get plugged in, and let me know if you need more information. For starters, read the letter below, then check out the environmentalist website www.parkspreservation.org, which has considerable background material and a link to the text of the Master Plan. Thanks to all.

March 13, 2009
TO: Hon. Maggie Brooks, County Executive, et al.
RE: Ellison Park Area Master Plan Update

Dear County Executive:

The thirteen undersigned organizations find the draft Master Plan for parkland around Irondequoit Bay to be unacceptable. The proposed Master Plan does not represent the interests of the residents and park users of Monroe County, but instead, the interests of a small, vocal user group. It does not meet its stated goals of conservation and sustainability. In short: mountain biking does not belong on existing, often narrow and winding, park trails.

Please consider:

• A ban on off-road bicycles was written into our park code for good reasons that remain valid today. It was based on concerns for the safety of the public, and the care of our environment. Political winds should not compromise proper park stewardship.
• Safety is a major concern. Trail walkers must not be placed in harm’s way by cyclists traveling on the same narrow dirt trail. The experience of walkers is greatly diminished if they must be looking over their shoulders for oncoming cyclists. “Shared use” is a myth on existing, narrow park trails.
• Numerous public statements have been made, and letters written, both from individuals and prominent environmental organizations, that express serious concerns about opening our parks to cyclists. The draft Master Plan ignores these concerns.
• The Master Plan states, “public comment indicated that this [shared use trails in Tryon Park] is something that is highly desired by the community.” This is a misrepresentation of the public comments. The comments of members of the undersigned organizations, representing some 6000 citizens, indicate a lack of support for shared use on existing park trails. A single, small special interest group of mountain bikers does not represent the community, or most park users.
• There were major, unacceptable changes introduced in the Master Plan presented to the Parks Advisory Committee (PAC) in February 2009, despite representations by the Parks Director and Consultant at the January 2009 PAC meeting that there would be no substantial change to the preliminary recommendations.
• These major changes included the use of existing trails in Tryon rather than carefully designed sustainable trails, the addition of a second park (Bay Park West) for mountain biking, and proposed shared use trail loops in the Ellison Wetlands.
• We are concerned about environmental impacts caused by cycling on steep, erodible trails. Simply allowing use on existing trails without considering impacts is not good stewardship.
• With the many miles of recently constructed multi-use trails (Genesee Riverway, Genesee Valley Greenway, Lehigh Valley, etc) there are ample bike paths in the county to help cyclists stay healthy. The county park trails are a unique domain without faster traffic where walkers can safely do the same. To claim that mountain biking on park trails is necessary to stem the epidemic of childhood obesity is to distort the facts.

All the above concerns cause us to ask: Is there an unstated agenda to open all trails for shared use in the Ellison Park Complex? Will Ellison Park Complex be the first falling domino in the county park system, as we open each park to off-road cycling? That is the stated goal of the mountain biking organization.

This is a cause for alarm for all park users, for all of us who cherish our parks as one of our County’s greatest resources, and pay for them with our taxes.

Finally, the master planning process has not been inclusive. We recommend that a citizen participation group comprised of diverse representative user group organizations work with the consultant and Parks officials in order to contribute ideas and review and discuss each successive draft in the process.

We urge our County Executive and our Legislators to continue to be proper park stewards and to resist the political pressures so that we, our children and grandchildren will be able to have access to safe, environmentally sound, park trails. We urge you to reject this draft Master Plan at this time – there are too many important issues that must first be addressed.

Respectfully submitted,

Burroughs Audubon Nature Club, Center for Sustainable Living, Federation of Monroe County Environmentalists, Genesee Valley Audubon Society, Genesee Valley Hiking Club, Living in Harmony, People for Parks, Rochester Area Mycological Association, Rochester Birding Association, Rochester Butterfly Club, Sierra Club (Rochester Regional Group), League of Women Voters (Rochester Metropolitan Area), Wednesday Hikers

This is the first episode of the RocBike Review I’ve produced, and let me warn you that the sound quality from the interview is TERRIBLE! The “Good” setting on my audio recorder should be relabeled “Crappy.” But Dan has so many interesting things to say about his experiences on the road that I have to share it. Expect all future interviews to sound much better!

I find that complaining that someone isn’t safe enough rarely does any good, whether it’s directed at the person or the general blog audience. But last month I saw two feats of cycling so reckless I have to share them here, dear readers.

1. Winter TV Haulin’ 

 
Don’t sneeze! 

I got stuck behind this fellow on my way to a friend’s house. I was in the bit of a rush, but I didn’t dare try to pass him as he weaved back and forth along poorly plowed back roads, television set delicately balanced on his handlebars. He nearly wiped out about three times as I followed him, and had to stop at one point when he hit an incline. I took that opportunity to pass him, say “Hello,” and not look back.

2. Drunken Cycling 

John 2:12 

I saw this bike outside a bicycle-themed restaurant/bar in Chicago and wanted to tell the woman who rode in on the bike that her sticker was interesting. She replied with slurred speech and breath thick with the smell of alcohol. In fact, I rarely see people this drunk in public, and can’t say that I’ve ever seen a cyclist so intoxicated. As we were leaving, she was having trouble strapping something onto the back of her bike.

Let’s here some of your recklessness cyclist stories in the comments.

Maybe if I go slowly the water won’t notice that I’m here 

Winters bring the most difficult conditions for motorists to get through, be they giant puddles of indeterminate depth, deep snow to get stuck in, or icy hills that send climbing cars backwards. I haven’t had those problems yet this winter on bike. And if I do, I make the point in my Ten Reasons Why Bikes Are Better for Winter Commuting that when the going gets tough on a bike, you can walk or carry it until you’re in the clear.

I can carry 12 lifejackets in my Freeloader bags 

It’s OK to feel a little bit of smug self-satisfaction as a winter bike commuter. People think it’s so rough. Oh, you must be really dedicated. I could never do that.

The secret is that, sometimes, it’s much easier on bike.

My tires, basking in the ice-cold neon power of the Chicken Avenger 

The Right Tire for You 

My particular Nokian tires seem comparatively low-end, as Nokians go. They have just 160 studs per tire compared to the meatier Nokian Extremes that our own Jack Spula uses. Plus, it seems that the $65.00-per-tire asking price at Towners is a bit high compared to what other people are paying around the country for this particular model. So if you can spare the time to research the best value you can find, I suggest you do.

But even lower-end overpriced studded tire models receive praise from their users. I’ve spent time on icy roads with road tires, mountain bike tires, fat balloon cruiser tires, and of course these Nokians, and this winter season (with the studs) is really the first time I’ve felt comfortable in all road conditions. I’ve gotten away in the past with “knobby” mountain bike tires, but they’re only good when there’s snow on the road. Those knobs do nothing to grip onto the ice.

How Far Will Studs Take One? 

I still ride with extra caution on nights like tonight when it gets cold after a bit of a thaw. That’s my sensible nature.

Yet studs really speed up my winter commutes. I used to get off my bike and walk it on side streets when there was a lot of sludge build-up. Poorly plowed back roads are still not my preferred route to take in winter, but they’re navigable with the Nokians.

White and black ice usually isn’t much of a problem, either, though I make sure to slow down a bit when the street looks shiny. Turns are easy to take, which is a huge relief at intersections. I was riding with Joey Mac last winter, and we went to take a left at an icy intersection, but Joey’s bike kept going straight. A busy intersection is the worst place to fall off your bike, and avoiding that situation just once is worth the price of at least one studded tire.

The brown frozen sludge that cars deposit next to their path, which Jack affectionately calls “car snot,” is probably the most difficult surface to ride on with studded tires. It builds up the most on roads with moderate use, where there is enough traffic to push the sludge next to the motorists’ path but not enough to help melt it all away. When possible I just ride closer to the center of the road, in the right tire track, and let motorists try to figure out how to pass me safely. But when I have to ride in the snot, I drop the bike down to a low gear and take my time. I’ve even ridden uphill through the snot (on Empire Boulevard, by the bay) and that’s something that can’t be done with standard road tires.

Incidentally, the studs handle fine on clear roads. There’s a bit of a humming noise, and a hardly detectable increase in rolling resistance, but nothing that makes me look forward to the end of the season when the road tires go back on. These tires are welcome to stay on my bike for as long as the weather demands.

Cuts through the snow like a hot knife through Earth Balance. 

Now, To Find Studded Boots! 

One hilarious drawback of these studded tires is that they’ll take you to places where you can’t walk. I’ll stop my bike and get off, only to stumble around on the icy surface. I’m happy that my studded tires have made me stop cursing my decision to live in a northern climate while I’m on my bike. Now, for some boots that will do the same while I’m walking.

I took a spill turning the corner from New Scotland onto Myrtle. No damage. Just shook me up a bit. If I’d had studded tires (yeah yeah I’m working on it) it might not have been an issue.

I’m just happy to be riding my bike again.

I lucked out, because they sent us home early. This meant there was not as much snow at 2:30 as there’d be at 5, and there was also some daylight.

My bike doesn’t have studded tires yet.

The ride up Orange Street taught me a lot. I could not ride in the tracks cars made because the packed snow would just break away, and I was sliding all over the place. Lark Street was so messy I actually got off my bike and pushed it to a side street. Which I couldn’t ride on either.

Washington Park was a dream! There was nobody there. The snow was unbroken and I just cruised through it. It was beautiful.

From there I rolled through the snow at the edges of streets down to New Scotland. New Scotland was a mess. I don’t know what I was expecting. I cut down to Helderberg and rolled through that.

It took me an hour to get home, and the trip usually takes 20 something minutes. I knew it would be slow, I didn’t know it would be that slow. It was exhausting work. And then I had to shovel when I got home. I am glad I did it, but it is not the sort of thing I want to make a habit of. I could’ve walked home in a little more than an hour and I wouldn’t have been as beaten, nor as near to traffic.

Some people would say the biggest mistake I made was doing this at all. I say the biggest mistake I made was not wearing waterproof pants of some kind. My pants were soak through by the time I got to the park, and then the water in them began to freeze.

 

I have a handy ride-mapping application for my phone that sends this data over the internet. You can see on this map where I tried to cross the river at the RG&E station, but they have it all closed down for construction, so I had to make my way across Driving Park bridge instead.

Also, once I made it out to Greece I had to do what I could to avoid the shoulder-free highways. It was quite an adventure.

On the way back I was on a two-lane road with no shoulder, and some kids in a van decided to “tailgate” me (what would one call that when you have a vehicle that has no tailgate?). It got pretty scary – they were laying on their horn, and I had no idea what they were going to do. A police car passed and did absolutely nothing about it, which was surreal, but the kids seemed to be spooked enough by the cop to stop what they were doing and leave me alone.

I decided, after putting her through such a harrowing experience, that The Chicken Avenger deserved a good wash-down. I disassembled her for the first time since she was “born,” hosed her down with hot water, and put her bags through the wash. Gosh, she’s a beauty when she’s got her bags off:

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/11/toronto-cycle-car-confict.php

Election Day here was a beautiful near 70 degree day, so I took the opportunity for a nice bike ride along the Genesee Riverway Trail through Genesee Valley Park. Although I have mixed feelings about graffiti, I have to admit that I love this one.

I wasn’t the only one who decided to take in as much outdoor recreation as possible.

It was a truly glorious fall day, and I’m glad I have this ride to remember when I think back to the day Barack Obama was elected.

On a separate trip, we took Zoe, who loves the Greenway, because she gets to run for miles.

Here are a few great spots in nearby Burdett for cyclists. I’ve never been here when it’s open, but it looks like a great place for service, and they had some new bikes in there as well.

And this is my favorite breakfast/sandwhich spot for miles around.

Right behind the building there’s a waterfall, and there must have been a mill there at some point.

Fall is a great time to visit the Finger Lakes, so get out before the snow flies (not that snow would stop us diehard Rocbike’rs!)

Not that they were absent totally from the discussion. I did have my pseudo-hybridized Kona on display front and center, and it should have been obvious that this beauty of a commuter machine is equipped with full fenders. Notice I didn’t say “pair.” That’s because I’ve got a mismatched fender duo scrounged from other bikes: a mountain bike style clip-on in the front, and a traditional plastic job with steel stays in the rear. They aren’t beautiful like the bike, but they work great.

Then this past Wednesday, I went on the Cruiser Ride with what turned out to be an unusually small group, only a half dozen of the hardcore. (These weekly rides have been drawing two or three dozen riders, but now the fall weather and lower-light conditions may be taking a toll.) We spent the first hour of the ride dodging raindrops and the occasional puddle left by a day of intermittent showers. Just as we were getting to the corner of Main and Clinton downtown the rain got pretty heavy, so with the collective instinct of a flock of migratory birds, we zipped and swooped under the overhang of the old McCurdy’s building on Main St., right across from the old Sibley’s. It worked out fine: a nice half-hour break, mostly spent talking politics (insert here your favorite Palin story) while (at least for me) contemplating the sad lack of street life.

So what has this got to do with fenders? Well, I noticed that I was the only rider that night who had them. And I wondered if our riding group had sought shelter at least in part because we – on average – weren’t properly equipped. I mused about how different things are in Portland (OR) and Seattle, or many northern European communities, where a large proportion of bikes have fenders – and not necessarily modern high-tech ones, but old-fashioned metal fenders, not lightweight or rust-proof but, as if in compensation, practically immortal. I think that the success of bike commuting and other routine bike usage in places like these is related to the widespread use of practical accessories, with full fenders at the top of the list.

Okay, fenders ain’t sexy. But who cares, or should care? Aren’t riding comfort and preparedness for the weather more important considerations? American riders overall have been seduced by the stripped-down charms of naked rubber – tires, that is. They’ve been metaphorically drafting the road racers, in pursuit of bike weight reductions measured in milligrams, as well as maximum efficiencies in reducing drag. This has led our bike culture to reject fenders, though the new types tip the scales at less than a pound a pair and have surface areas and shapes that only minutely increase drag. To lose an ounce here or there, we’ve condemned ourselves to wearing that charming mud-stripe up the backside and that delightful rain-in-the-face recycled off the pavement. And even worse, by gearhead values, we’ve left our brakes and derailleurs fully exposed to blasts of water, grit and debris.

As a bike culture, we’ve made a serious error in judgment. So I say, let’s write another chapter in The Revenge of the Nerds and press our fenders close to our hearts. (Actually, they work better when attached near the wheels. This is my tech tip for the day.) Here at RocBike we declare we “have nothing to lose but our chains.” Well, we’ve also got mudguards to gain, and whole new worlds of inclement weather not merely to endure but in which to seek pure delight. (Did I say fenders ain’t sexy? Then why I am getting so worked up?)

Later I talked to a Pittsford town official who told me the project was connected to reconstruction (“re-destruction”?) of the intersection of Clover St. and Jefferson Rd. If you venture down Clover (Rt. 65) toward Mendon Ponds – one of the most popular bike roads hereabouts – you’ll see the scraped-earth policy being mercilessly implemented. I wondered if the project had been properly vetted and publicized; the Pittsford official assured me it had been, though his tone reinforced my feeling that when it comes to the DOT’s version of democratic process, you’ve got to watch your back.

I also contacted the DOT point person by email, but I haven’t got a response yet. A news story I retrieved said the state is relocating the vehicular entrance to the canal park a little bit north on Clover, opposite Framingham Lane. Undoubtedly, this new design will help avoid traffic “interactions” both on the shared trail/driveway and on Clover St. But I assume, too, that the intent is to increase parking spaces overall – something I oppose in principle.

To anyone who knows more about this project: please post a comment. I hope, too, that someone can provide some photos from ground level. We need all the facts. But I have to say, my first impressions of this business is that, as happens so often with DOT activities, a whole lot of trees may have given their lives in vain.

For a map/satellite view of the location (obviously, from before the project was begin), go to http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q=new%20york%20state%20department%20transportation%20pittsford&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wl

Here’s your coupon, in case you missed Ethan’s the first time: ThanksJulie403163. Good for $1 off for 30 days, and it can be used up to 20 times.

Here’s the link.

We got off to a bit of a funny start – we made our way down the river trail and hit the Greenway where it begins near Genesee Valley Park. At one point, pretty early on, the trail ends and you have to jump onto Scottsville Road to continue on.

Sorry, it’s time to hit the road! 

The Friends of the GVG announce on their site that a trail will be built next to the road in 2002 or 2003, and we can’t wait! Scottsville Road runs through a busy industrial section of town, past the airport, and the shoulder is littered with broken glass, metal shards, and nails. In fact, Jess found a nail with her tire!

The macro lens helps ensure that the nail is the central focus of this picture. 

Lucky for us, I had a patch kit with me, and Jess got to learn how to patch a tube! Twice! Because the nail went through both sides of her tube! 

A perfect learning opportunity 

While we were surveying the damage up on the sidewalk off of Scottsville Road (and looking totally stranded), a cyclist almost ran us over riding the wrong way down the street on the sidewalk. Then he stopped right past us, I thought to offer us help or encouragement, but just to ignore us and adjust his load. We found the situation quite humorous.

As we continued on, we were concerned that we wouldn’t be able to find the point where the trail picked back up, but lucky for us another random cyclist was riding up ahead and turned right down the trail (here’s where he turned). On the way back we found a better way to pick the trail back up – as you head south on Scottsville Road, you’ll hit some railroad tracks a good distance before the intersection with Jefferson (with a railroad bridge on your left). There’s a path on your right immediately after the tracks (here’s where it is on a map). You’ll have to lift your bike over the guardrail, but after that it’s easy to head down the trail and spot where the Greenway turns off to the left.

The Greenway itself is quite lovely. There’s a misconception that it runs along the Genesee River – in fact, the trail runs on the old Genesee Valley Canal towpath, which was later turned into a railroad. You can learn these interesting historical tidbits by reading signs while being eaten by mosquitoes on the trail.

The trail isn’t paved, but in most parts it is relatively smooth, and always wide enough to ride side by side. 

We stopped for dinner at a small park in Scottsville (the faraway town, not the road we had braved earlier) and ate vegan ham and cheese sandwiches by a water treatment plant.

You can see here that our gear-hauling setup consists of milk crates. It works. 

After dinner, we continued on the path, keeping an eye out for a good place to spend the night. At some points the old canal bed looked like a fun place to set up a tent, but in other places it was filled with swampy, stagnant water. As daylight began to fade we kept looking. And finally we found a lovely spot right off the side of the trail. The bugs were out strong that night, so I quickly began setting up tent while Jess got our gear in order.

This picture is from the next day, but I’d figure you’d want to see the setup. 

Safe inside our tents, we heard an ATV roar down the trail, and soon after a bunch of cyclists, one yelling towards our tent “Hells yeah, they have the right idea!” Otherwise no company out late at night.

The next day a recreational rider stopped by our tent. He implied that he’s been out on the trail a lot since he was a kid and never sees campers, and never thought of camping but liked the idea. We made our way back up the trail, passing cyclists and dog walkers along the way.

And we were back in Rochester by about 10:00am. Our little trip was short, but a lot of fun, and I look forward to more S24O trips in the future.

Adventure awaits you in the Genesee Valley! 

I talked with Loren while we pedaled and asked him to write about his experiences for RocBike. He already knew about us (thanks, Google!) and said he would. So look for dispatches from PedicabLandia coming soon.

As a commuter and solo/family bike tourist, I’ve never been involved in bike racing, except marginally, through watching events like the Tour de France on TV – i.e. being a velo-couch-potato. But I took in all three Omnium events this year and loved every minute.

First came the time trials in Charlotte Friday afternoon. I approached the event the right way: biking out St. Paul St., then taking the designated trail through Maplewood Park and the Turning Point, and ending up at the harbor. Things were pretty quiet that morning along the trail, and also along Lake Avenue, which had been cordoned off. (What a contrast to the “other” Lake Avenue, which thunders with beer-powered motorcycles on Boys’ Nights Out.) The contestants were amazing: the winning average speed over the 4.4 mile course was, if my calculator doesn’t lie, a hair under 36 mph. Damn showoffs. Hell, I probably hit 36 mph for a good twenty seconds as I coasted down the big hill at the southern approach to Turning Point Park. I won’t discuss the 3.6 mph I achieved on a notorious short uphill stretch on my way back.

My brother came in from Buffalo Saturday night to join me at the Criterium downtown. He’s been riding the Riverwalk in Buffalo and Tonawanda and is showing more and more interest in longer excursions. But he’d never seen a live bike race – and so, as you’d expect, he was blown away. Just like anybody who considers the pure athleticism of the pro riders. Talk about muscle tone and lung capacity.

I had an unusual experience during the Sunday road race, a 101-miler that ended with a few rousing 6-mile loops in and near Genesee Valley Park. There I was on Wilson Boulevard at the north end of the River Campus, innocently minding my own business and trying to get near the action, when I was “drafted” by an RPD officer to monitor an exit from the UR’s back parking lot. Actually, I volunteered; I seen my duty and I done it – keeping errant vehicles and pedestrians from wandering onto the closed course. Well, the errant traffic never materialized, so I was left standing there, a solitary sentinel – though I did have a great view of the racers as they flew down the slope toward the boulevard. More showoffs! They ride a hundred miles in a leisurely four hours and then, as if from the ultimate caffeine rush, really pour on the speed.

When things got preternaturally quiet, I figured the race was over. And so it was: I got to the finish line, a half mile from my guardpost, just as the awards ceremony was starting. Too bad I missed the winner crossing the line, but I have no regrets. The event was a success, the weather was cooperative, and the crowd was lively. Actually, that brings up one regret. I wish more people had come out to watch the end of the road race, and I wish the same about the Charlotte time trials. Each of these deserves a crowd of thousands, the kind that swarms downtown for the “Crit.” I’ll bet the turnout will be better next year, because the Omnium seems to be on a steep upward curve.

We had our first bike camping adventure this weekend, and it was great!

We decided to start easy, with a family camping event at Five Rivers Environmental Education Center in nearby Delmar, New York. Here’s a bit of history about Five Rivers, which started out as a Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp in the New Deal era:

Five Rivers is a place where conservation began, and today the Environmental Education Center proudly carries forward this long legacy of environmental stewardship. From 1933-36, a resident Civilian Conservation Corps built brooder houses, dammed streams and fenced fields to create New York’s first and only State Experimental Game Farm. For 40 years, state biologists conducted a comprehensive and widely acclaimed study of the ruffed grouse, while raising a variety of game species for release.

Research biologists at the site’s Wildlife Resources Laboratory, established in 1941, field tested new techniques in wildlife management, many of which revolutionized the profession and put New York in the forefront of a growing national conservation movement. The technique of aging deer by dentition, the use of cannon-nets for live-trapping, and the abundance of mallards in the eastern flyway are all directly attributable to this early work on the grounds. Today, the careful visitor can spot many elements which recall the storied Game Farm era.

Five Rivers is 8 miles from our house. We rode the entire way on Delaware Ave, which is hilly, but not too bad. We’ve had a ton of rain this summer in Albany, and it rained on Thursday and early in the day on Friday. As we headed out on the road, we noticed rain clouds coming in. By the time we’d gone a couple miles, the clouds were really coming quickly:

Soon we were riding through a light rain. We pulled into the Bethlehem Public Library and waited for a few minutes under an overhang near the entrance. It seemed clear that the rain wasn’t going to let up, and that was the moment to decide whether this was an FFA (Fun Family Adventure) or an HHM (Horrible Horrible Mistake). We decided to go for it.

Delmar is a pretty little town, but Deleware Avenue leaves something to be desired. Some of the time, there’s a wide shoulder. Some of the time, there are two lanes. And other times? Curves and no shoulder. Huzzah! We eventually decided to use a sidewalk that was otherwise unoccupied, making a nice bike path:

Later that evening, Jen told me that at just about the point where she was thinking about turning back … we arrived! Wet, but happy, we made it to Five Rivers. The staff members were quite surprised to see us ride in. In fact, they were trying at that point to figure out whether to move the camping outing into the visitors center. They decided not to because, as a staffer said later, “We figured you campers must be pretty hardcore if you showed up on bikes.” (They were talking about us. Weird!) We pedaled over to our campsite.

Within a few minutes — and with help from another camper, Kevin — our tent was set up. We hadn’t used it since last summer, and we’d only used it once then, so weren’t even sure we’d remember how to put it together. It was easy though, even in the light rain. By the time we finished, the rain had stopped and never started again.

Ten families signed up for the camping trip, but half of them canceled because of the weather. The folks who came were great. Bernie immediately befriended a boy named Jake and they spent the rest of the time chasing each other and kicking a ball around. John took a quick liking to Allie, a Student Naturalist at Five Rivers. One thing we didn’t realize was that the fire wasn’t going to be made until 8:30 at night. We brought hot dogs for dinner, so we dug into our snack food and figured we’d appreciate the hot dogs that much more when we ate them later that evening.

At about 7:30, Five Rivers staffer Anita led us on a nature walk. We saw fields full of gorgeous wildflowers, deer and slugs. That’s right, slugs. The kids got to hold the slugs and learn just how sticky they are. It was great.

The fire was ready by the time we finished our walk, so we broke out the hot dogs. Other folks had marshmallows and Jiffy Pop popcorn. As you know, I’m all about making it easy, so I roasted three dogs at once using my patented Three Weenie Roaster (TM):

We went on a firefly walk after dinner. One of the staffers was collecting firefly data for the Firefly Watch sponsored by the Boston Museum of Science. We counted fireflies and wrote down the numbers so that she could submit our totals.

Then it was back to camp for a good night’s sleep. Bernie and John — and their parents — fell asleep very quickly.

This morning we were up at about 7 or so. We snacked on organic pop tarts, gorp and juice. Jen and I broke down the tent and packed the bikes. We took one more hike…

…took some photos…

…and then pedaled home.

In total: 16 miles, 18 hours, 4 happy people!

You can view all our photos from trip online:

080808 Five Rivers

]]> http://www.rocbike.com/2008/08/09/five-rivers-adventure/feed/ 8 http://www.rocbike.com/2008/08/07/positive-vibes-in-roc-city/ http://www.rocbike.com/2008/08/07/positive-vibes-in-roc-city/#comments Fri, 08 Aug 2008 00:24:41 +0000 Jason Crane http://www.rocbike.com/?p=1653 This came into the RocBike inbox today:

Name: Tucker

Subject: For the Rochester crew–a story of hope

Message: Hey guys, I live and bike here in ROC city, and I blogged
today about a cool riding experience I had involving a positive
interaction with a driver. I thought I’d share it with you, just in
case it was of interest. Thanks for what you do to promote cycling
here in town and all over! My blog’s at www.tooooks.blogspot.com.

Head over and check it out, won’t you? Grazi, Tucker!

But if I had to negotiate that mess every day, or even once a week, I’d be tearing out my hair and hurling imprecations at the Petro-gods, who clearly rule the roost at MCC, DOT, and various local governments. Of all the colleges/universities I’ve attended or taught at, MCC probably has the worst record of inattention to pedestrians and cyclists. For a long, long time (the Brighton campus turns 40 this year), bikers and other transpo-orphans have been the object of a de facto discrimination campaign. Sometimes as you wend your way between the city line and the campus, which from a distance looks like a very downscale Oz surrounded by vast defenses in the form of parking lots, you feel like The Fugitive braving hostile territory and inching toward vindication – “I made it alive! And I’m not guilty!”

I hope the ongoing reconstruction improves the situation. In some ways, it will have to: current DOT guidelines call for accommodations for pedestrians/cyclists whenever practicable. Indeed, the specific NYSDOT plan for this section of 15A calls for “bicycle lanes throughout.” But don’t expect MCC to turn into UC Davis. I’ve monitored the changes for years now, and the only options I’ve seen seriously considered are those that will sooner or later (more likely sooner) substantially increase traffic volumes around the campus. Bikers will find better conditions, but the campus, which is shortchanged on transit, too, will still be the academic equivalent of a Wal-Mart.

We should remember, too, that what’s happening around MCC Brighton is part of larger, darker picture. Brighton is becoming heavily sprawlified east of the campus, where the last vestiges of dairy farming have given way to ever-proliferating office “parks,” a land-hungry megachurch, and (soon) a gated community next to the Erie Canal. The canal trail and a couple of spurs (short trails through Meridian Centre Park and Brighton Town Park, plus the Lehigh Valley Trail, N Branch) are among the best biking spots on the planet, or at least this little corner of it. But overall, regarding the bicycle, Brighton and partners like NYSDOT have taken away more than they’ll ever give back.

Although I’ve been commuting to my office in downtown Rochester regularly for some time now, my job sometimes requires me to attend meetings at the other campus of MCC (Monroe Community College, for non-Rochester readers). That campus is on E. Henrietta Rd., a clogged main artery leading to the land of malls, big grocery stores, empty big box stores, and continued building of new big box stores which will likely fall empty in a few years…and the road is currently under construction so it can handle even more car traffic.

Hence, I have not been anxious to ride my bike there. But then, a stroke of genius! I could ride the Genesee Riverway Trail to the Erie Canal, get off the canal path next to Monroe Community Hospital, and in keeping with Adam’s rules of riding on the sidewalk, take the sidewalk a short distance to campus.

Given that I’ve lived in Rochester for 18 years and been riding the trails for 12, one could say my stroke of genius was somewhat belated. Nonetheless, last week, I did it…I rode from my home (smack between the two campuses) to the Brighton campus of MCC, from there to downtown, and back to my home at the end of the day.

It was a beautiful day, I had little traffic to deal with, and I got in a decent amount of exercise. The only downside was the fact that I changed clothes three times in the middle of the work day. But it’s summer, which makes a change from shorts to a sleeveless dress pretty easy (I keep multiple pairs of shoes at work, as well as an all-purpose dress jacket, so that I don’t have to tote them). Having short hair makes this kind of commute a breeze as well.

Here are some of the highlights.

The path is unmarked next to Monroe Community Hospital.

I’d much rather be on this “roadway” than the one under construction at the top of the post.

This is near the University of Rochester and Genesee Valley Park, where three local trails converge.

The downtown library…a grand building.

Don’t you miss the days when buildings had inspirational quotes inscribed on them?

Home away from home.

The climb to the Whiteface summit was beyond EPIC. We awoke at 4:15am and scurried about in the dark making last-minute preparations, with yours truly trying to swallow mouthfuls bad motel room coffee without tasting it a desperate attempt to shake my overly exhausted body of of its comatose-like slumber. No such luck. It started raining around 5am and by the time we rolled out the door at 5:30 it was pouring hard with no signs of letting up. No matter. Joshua and I had been planning this trip for months and it was now or never. Let’s lock and load.

After a quick 5.5 mile warm up loop, we started the 8 mile climb similar to Le Alp de Huez that would bring us 4,800 ft. above the base with an ancient stone castle and fire tower awaiting us at the top. Unfortunately, the pouring rain and shrouds of mist prevented me from being able to see more than foot front of me the entire time–I was, quite literally, riding directly into the clouds.

It’s amazing what a mental game a climb as steady and unrelenting like this provides. All your excuses, rationalizations, reasons and extraneous bullsh*t must be immediately vaporized, sluiced through as decisively as one guides those skinny tires through the rivulets of water trickling down the mountain as you push ever-upwards. It didn’t matter that I only got 4 hrs.’ sleep the night before, or was operating on a severe sleep deficient from the week prior; that I had ridden 505.40 miles of challenging and hilly terrain the last 8 days during the Amazing Adirondack Adventure bike tour and my body was begging for a break; that the pulled muscles in my right glut and hamstring refused to shut up, no matter how much Ibuprofen I jammed down my throat; that my asthma severely limits my climbing ability; that the rain was coming down so hard I couldn’t see worth a damn. As I settled into a rhythm and found my groove, head bent and eyes locked straight ahead, all of that excess baggage was left behind and my purpose (if not my vision) was clear. No stopping. No rest. No surrender.

Around the 7 mile (approx. 4,000 ft) marker the sky started spitting out white stuff and “hurty” rain and I looked around and thought, “Holy crap! It’s HAILING!” I thought of Andy Hempstead riding through that freak June snowstorm on the Gavia in the Giro de Italia and me getting caught out on top of Mariaville Lake this past Feb. on an early training ride and having to pedal 32 miles home in a whirlwind of snow, with blue fingers, lips and toes by the time I walked through my front door. But right then, in that moment, there was no hesitation. Head down. Pedal forwards. Right foot. Left foot. Right foot. Repeat…all the way to the top.

Arriving at the top was a bit anti-climactic–the views of the valley and our neighbors to the north the Toll Rd. is legendary for were completely obliterated by the fog—and what might’ve been a rip-roaring descent worth relishing under dry circumstances became a true test of one’s bike handling skills and brake-feathering through freezing cold and treacherous wet—but I couldn’t have any more victorious than Carlos Sastra at that moment.

Once again my Chinese fortune cookie tag I opened a week before my 300K Brevet in April (and still hanging on my fridge) rang true: “Determination will get you through this.” Exhaustion, muscle fatigue, severe sleep deprivation: sometimes sheer willpower does, indeed, conquer all.

Goal met. Mission accomplished. Next challenge? You tell me. I’m all ears.

The last three times I’ve been on my Xtracycle in Washington Park, it has rained on otherwise sunny days. The most recent time was today, when it rained only while I was in the park.

After careful scientific observation, and with an appropriately American amount of avarice, I have come up with the following proposal:

People Of Albany!

For $5 per day, I will pledge NOT to ride my Xtracycle through Washington Park, thereby ensuring nice weather.

Please note, this does not mean $5 per person per day, merely $5 per day. At that rate, given Albany’s population of 90,000 people, you’ll only have to contribute once every 18,000 years. Seems fair to me. Look for a PayPal button soon.

I was down most of the weekend with the stomach flu. Then I rode about six miles to do a visit to one of our union hotels. Oh. My. God. I didn’t think I was going to make it back. I can’t remember being so tired. It felt like I’d ridden 50 miles.

Oy.

My blogging friend John and his son Brandon just rode across most of our fair state. Now get this: John is a union guy from Massachusetts who likes jazz and soccer. And, as it turns out, I am a union guy from Massachusetts who likes jazz and soccer. John had hoped to make it Albany, but road realities changed his plans. You should really check out his ride journal. The first few pages are about the prep for the ride, and then the ride diary itself starts. Great pics and stories. When you’re done there, head over to John’s cycling blog, A Midnight Rider.

Eighteen riders joined in the annual coffee shop ride sponsored by the Daily Grind Cafés. Our riders were Joe, Soze, Andrew (on a bicycle that actually had brakes), Dennis, Perry, Jennifer, Laura, aero-bar Lisa, Aaron, Gavin, Randy (on a recently reborn and pristine Atlantis), Lacey, and Amy. The locals were joined by a family who came all the way from Minnesota to participate in the ride – Tom as tandem captain, Soren as stoker, August as tail gunner in a Burley, and Mandy as escort.

Throughout the trip, our Metroland cover star was swamped by autograph seekers and adoring fans.

Gavin and Andrew sped us done the hill for our first meet up at the boat launch. We then had a pleasant cruise on a somewhat crowded bike path to sunny Watervliet for a photo op at the I-787 underpass. Led at a blistering pace by Amy, we headed through town, stopping near the arsenal where Soze, Gavin, and Andrew held an impromptu tech workshop on tire repair. After a short hop over the Green Island Bridge, we were welcomed with free coffees by the hospitable staff at the Troy Daily Grind.

While sitting in the sidewalk patio enjoying our brunch, the second wave arrived – Lacey, Randy, and the Minnesotans. Jim Clark, a long-time fixture on the local bike scene who recently returned from a year in Brooklyn, stopped in on his way from the Troy Farmers Market. We were also joined by Doug who seemed to have forgotten his bicycle.

At this point, some riders headed back to Albany (or wherever) and another group followed Amy and Dennis to the Farmers Market where we met up with the TBR crew led by birth parent and filmmaker Andrew. After stocking up, we headed back to Albany. Somewhat later Dennis (complaining about the weight of the two dozen cabbages he bought) and Laura (who stated that she had two bottles of wine) were found by the side of the road but under the attentive care of Wobbly-Wheel-Woodin. After a quick recovery, they zipped up Lark St.

We are all indebted to Lee, Rick, and the staff of the Daily Grinds for an enjoyable day.

– Lorenz Worden

…gets completely soaked together! Here we are after getting caught in a downpour on the way back from Washington Park.

Jen and the boys and I set out today for Five Rivers Environmental Education Center, but we got as far as a playground in downtown Delmar, about 4 miles from home. We had a blast, though, throwing the Foxtail, playing in the sandbox and reading Walt Whitman aloud. Here are some photos from the trip, plus a few photos of a quick errand run I did with Bernie on my 1957 Raleigh Sprite. Enjoy!

91 degrees.

20 miles.

4 hours of sleep.

One slice of pizza.

Oy!

Jason already posted the local news story about the Adore Your City bike ride. I finally got to meet regular commenter Keith, and was surprised by how many people I knew there, since this was my first group ride, outside of a few Critical Mass rides in the past (which are a totally different kind of experience!). There were people from my graduate classes, a former colleague, and Rochester’s Mayor Robert Duffy and his wife.

The first route (map here) was nice and easy, a pretty slow pace and some beautiful scenery along the Genesee River and Rochester’s Corn Hill neighborhood. It took a different kind of cycling with such a large group (about 60), but it didn’t take long to get the hang of it, and it was really fun to be such a large presence on the city streets. Since it was 9 am Sunday morning, we were pretty much the only presence on the streets.

Quite a few people (maybe 10-15?) just did the first route. By that time, I’m pretty sure I was the only one on a seriously heavy city bike, although there were also a couple of tandems there, including a recumbent tandem. Or at least I felt rather conspicuous. The first part of the second route was very familiar, covering ground I’d just ridden a few weeks ago. Once we turned to come down Old King’s Highway, through Durand Eastman park, I still felt strong, but definitely slower on those hills, and I was near the end arriving at the meeting place where everyone was waiting. I finished out the second route at the end with Kyle from Full Moon Vista, who was riding sweep.

At that point we were back at home base for lunch. Except there wasn’t anything really filling that I would choose to eat (I’m vegetarian). I’m not complaining, as I should have confirmed with the organizers whether there would be veggie options. But I needed re-fueling in a big way, and given that I’d already been lagging behind, I decided to call it a day. I headed home and inhaled two plates of pasta. The total? 39 miles for the day, at a considerably faster pace than my usual (and a considerably faster pace than the advertised 12-14 miles/hour).

It was a good ride, for a good cause. But as with any first-time event, there were a few snags. We were scheduled to complete the second route by 11:30. We completed it by about 1:15. I’m told that those remaining did one additional route, for three, rather than the originally planned four, completed routes. It went slow partly because of traffic (there was more on the second route than the first) and because it was a no-drop ride. There were a few flat tires along the way, and the riders were at various speed levels. Also, there weren’t enough restrooms for all of us at Full Moon, so the potty line was loooonngg, meaning we were just standing around waiting for a long time before heading back out for the second route.

I think some of the more advanced cyclists were frustrated by having to wait for the slower. At the same time, we were cycling at a faster rate than advertised, and the intention seemed to be that all levels would be accommodated. I really liked the fact that it was designed to be accessible to a wide variety of levels. While I like riding for recreation and physical challenge, my primary purpose is still transportation (the fact that I also love being on a bike is just icing on the cake).

I’d like to see more people cycling for transportation, and thus the more people that are encouraged to bike, the better, at whatever level. There are quite a few events that promote cycling solely as a sport for those with the time and money to participate. Let’s have an event that doesn’t exclude that part of the community, but that DOES include other portions…those who cycle because it’s the most affordable form of transportation, those who just love being on a bike, those who are committed to cycling as a sustainable form of transportation. Let’s promote cycling for people at all levels…to improve our roads, our air, and our community’s health and vitality.

So, if you’re listening, Adore Your City organizers, first of all, THANK YOU! I know it was a lot of work, and I am really appreciative of the chance to participate. I am sure that everyone has advice for you for next time…here’s mine. Please don’t make the next ride less accessible to slower, less experienced cyclists. Maybe you could have two levels of routes…one faster and more advanced, and one slower and shorter. How about a short training ride beforehand, not for the physical training, but to help people learn about the fine art of riding in a group? And please, pretty please, more potties and some carb-rich veggie food next time?

I am distinctly NOT of the “no pain, no gain” mind set. I rather think that life brings plenty of unwanted pain all by itself, and there is no need to bring more upon myself. I’m more of the, “If it’s not fun, why do it?” mind set.

Strangely, and quite surprisingly, I found my 45-miler a complete pleasure. I started out looking like this, at about 10 am:

In between, at 2 pm, I looked like this:

I ended up looking like this, at 5 pm:

See what I mean…happy in the beginning, middle, and end. I won’t describe the route itself, as portions of it have been well-described here and here. I rode from near the University of Rochester on the Genesee Riverway Trail, all the way up to Lake Ontario, back to the U of R, through Genesee Valley Park, and to Perinton, just past Schoen Place in Pittsford, on the Canal Trail, then back home to the South Wedge of the city. I highly recommend it. Varied and beautiful scenery, and lots of places to stop, use the facilities, fill the water bottle, and grab a bite to eat.

Go to my flickr set for more pictures.

I will, however, share a few things I learned in the process of preparing for this ride.

1—Ride the route in advance! This was the mistake I made back in November, and I was determined not to make it again. I’d ridden from home to the lake two or three times before the big day, and from home to Pittsford/Perinton many times. I knew what to expect, how to pace myself, and when my next stop would be.

2—Although contrary to my nature, some amount of training was necessary. Throughout the icy winter I stayed in shape by taking spinning classes. I always thought that biking inside was rather silly and pointless. Maybe, but it’s a great workout, and I doubt I could have done the 45 miles so painlessly otherwise. Then, as soon as the weather got nice, I got back outside and made sure to get in some longer rides than usual.

3—Make it public. I am not so sure I would have actually done this, by my birthday, had I not posted my personal challenge here and at My 45th Year. May is a crazy time for someone so integrally connected and committed to the educational system through my children, my work, and graduate school. Normally I would have been writing rather than riding on a day off from work in May, and it would have been very easy to just say, “I’ll do it later,” if I hadn’t made a public commitment.

4—Rest and stretch along the way. There is a picture, from which I’ve spared myself the public humiliation, of me on the ground in a rather unflattering yoga pose. But the stretching helped keep me going and minimized next-day soreness. We stopped about every 10 miles, took some pictures, got some water, had a snack, and stretched. And we stopped at about 30 miles for a nice lunch. At that point I really needed the fuel. We also stopped in at Towpath Bike in Schoen Place, where they had this sign that says it all.

(Just for Jason…now HERE’s a packet boat:)

5—Find a buddy. It really helped to have my partner Tanya along for the ride. She’s been cheering me on all year, getting me to take spinning classes, making sure I remember to get out and ride, and her company on the big day was invaluable.

6—Use your mind to help you along. After lunch, we biked out to the turn-around point . At that point, it was only 15 miles back home. I decided to think of it as a separate ride. Just a little 15-miler. No big deal, I do it all the time.

And speaking of mind games, watch out for self-imposed limits. I was one of those kids picked last in gym, scrawny, and nerdy and brainy on top of it. Notice that “athletic” is not on that list. At some times during this year I had to remind myself that I can do this. I still don’t think I’m athletic, but I am fit, strong, and healthy.

Now, I should say that I was not totally pain-free after the ride. About two hours after, I crashed and I slept very soundly. That night and until about mid-day the next day, my body was a little stiff and pretty tired. But considering that I expected to be dragging myself to the 45th mile, a little soreness after the fact seemed like a victory.

The next big event for me will be the Adore Your City bike ride. I’m not sure if I’ll do all 4 routes, though. I suspect that me and my clunky hybrid may be struggling to keep up with the group speed, so it depends on how that goes. Will I see any Rocbike readers there?

Some examples: You’re carrying a big load and up comes a monster hill. Why pedal in a 19-inch gear and go no faster than you would on foot? Stop, smell the flowers for a minute, then walk to the top. Or you have a mechanical breakdown that makes your mount unrideable, so you end up walking it to the nearest settlement. No disgrace in this; the stroll may even buoy your spirit. (I’ve seen bikers laid low by a mere flat – that is, those bikers crazy enough to hit the open road without carrying a patch/toolkit. So be warned.) Or you just need to stretch a different muscle group – and you realize that biking isn’t supposed to be torture. So relax!

I think it’s fair, maybe even necessary, to rate bicycles on a, shall we say, pushability index. I give my old Miyata 618 tourer high marks here. I can lightly grip the bike by the stem with one hand and roll it along with almost no effort. And this holds true even when the Miyata is loaded to the gills with camping gear, clothing, tools, etc. Pushing the Big M certainly imposes less discomfort than humping the same load in a backpack.

But why am I bothering with this topic. Just a lead-in to a travelogue: my three days accompanying the peace march to Fort Drum, which meant that I pushed my bike (the storied Miyata) as much as I rode it.

Maybe you’ve seen something in the news about the march. (Check out nysmarchesforpeace.org for updates, with special attention to an upcoming rally.) Marchers will soon be converging north of Syracuse for the last push toward the base, which reportedly sends more troops to Iraq and Afghanistan than any other US military installation. I can’t vouch for the latter factoid, but I do know the base has grown wildly in recent years. No longer is it the miserable little hellhole it was in the early 70s when I had the bad luck to be sent there once in a while for “training” – no, today it’s a miserable enormous shithole and insult to humanity. But, hey, it brought jobs!

I digress. The point I’m trying to make is that it’s as simple as it is morally appropriate to bring a bike along on a peace march, and as simple as it is obvious that walking your bike is a natural form of locomotion. The vehicle itself is a symbolic presence – a human-scale machine that contradicts the brute logic of the highway (think SUVs, lots of them, as I found to my displeasure on Route 104) and the military (think Humvee/Hummer). And a bike’s inherent modesty, even with all the bells and whistles and panache of current models, allows you to function as a human being among pedestrians.

Which is exactly where you and I – not to mention the folks in uniform – belong.

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…but they do have a cherubim watching the bikes, so there’s some extra security.

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Jason Crane interviews Jenn Clunie, program manager of the New York Bicycling Coalition, about Bike Month in New York State. NYBC is sponsoring activities across the state, including classes in basis cycling skills, urban and mountain bike rides, Bike To Work Day, the Ride of Silence, and the annual Legislative Breakfast.

(Theme music provided by The Magnetic Fields. The song is “The Luckiest Guy On The Lower East Side.” Find out more at The House of Tomorrow.)

I have finally joined the elite cycling ranks. No, not by winning Le Tour or completing Paris-Roubaix or Paris-Brest-Paris. I did it the hard way — by getting hit with a full box of french fries thrown from a moving bus.

I was on my way home from Schenectady to Albany today, riding up State Street, when I felt a bunch of little stinging sensations on my back. The next thing I knew, I was riding through a cloud of what appeared to be McDonald’s french fries as a school bus passed within inches. I could see the kid who threw them jumping back from the window into his seat.

I tried to catch up, but an Xtracyle is not a great pursuit vehicle. The bus hit five or six green lights in a row going uphill, and I broke off the chase.

To add insult to injury, I wasn’t even able to catch a fry in my mouth!

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View Larger Map

I started on South Main and headed southeast on Helderberg. It’s a very quiet street that runs across other fairly quiet streets, so there were few if any cars. I did see quite a few cyclists down the main streets to both sides. The temperature was perfect for a nighttime ride — cool enough for jeans and a fleece, but warm enough to not have a chill in the air.

On the map, the first break in Helderberg Avenue is just southeast of Cardinal Ave. If you’re driving a car, that’s as far as you can go. If you’re riding a bike, though, you can cross Cardinal, ride up a hill that’s also someone’s driveway, and pass between two posts and a garden onto a little paved path that leads to Sycamore Street. Easy as pie, and pretty, too. A jogger passed me on the short path and said, “Nice lights!” The path goes down a little hill to the sidewalk on Sycamore. There’s a three-way stop at this point, so it’s a safe crossing point after you hop the curb. (You can also go down the sidewalk a few feet and exit onto the street via a driveway.)

At this point, Helderberg is more like a wooded alley, with several lovely houses fronting the street. No cars to be seen.

At Pinewood Avenue, Helderberg ends again if you’re driving. For a cyclist, another path leads you through to Ramsey Place. You can continue on Heldenberg all the way to Academy Road, and then across Academy onto one of the campuses. I’m still not sure which part of which campus I’m on when I ride this way. A lot of this area is part of the Albany Medical Center, but not all of it.

In any case, I continued down a campus path to Princeton Drive, then to Holland Avenue. I turned left on Delaware Avenue and then right on one of the most fun streets in Albany — Park Avenue. This is a brick street that rockets straight down to MLK Boulevard and Lincoln Park. I had just had disc breaks installed earlier in the day at the Down Tube, so I zipped down the hill at about 25 mph and jammed on the breaks at the bottom. They worked like a charm. (Although they need to be broken in, as Eric at the Down Tube had cautioned.)

The rest of the ride was a lovely cruise through downtown, including my usual trip to the mall at Empire State Plaza, one of my favorite places to ride at night.

Then it was home to degrease and lube my chain on the screened porch while listening to John Gielgud’s 1941 radio production of Hamlet. What a great night!

But I ride an Xtracycle with neon lights. And that makes up for a lot.

Whenever I ride around, I end up having at least one — and usually more than one — conversation about cycling. It often starts with the Xtracycle. People ask the “What is it?” question a lot. After reading something somewhere (maybe the Roots Radicals listserv?), I’ve started saying it’s a “bicycle pick-up truck.” That works surprisingly well. In some cases, we chat about the X for a few minutes and that’s it. More often, though, we end up talking about cycling. The other person’s experiences, cycling in Albany, etc.

Yesterday I was downtown for the Common Council meeting. On the way, I stopped in at the library. When I came out to unlock my bike, a guy in a BMW convertible pulled up next to the bike rack. He was probably in his late 60s. I’m not proud of this, but I’ll admit that my instant reaction was negative. Expensive car, older white guy, probably a banker or some kind of businessman who thinks I’m a hippy freak.

Then he walked over and asked me about the Xtracycle. I gave him the pitch, and he started telling me about his Fuji. “I don’t put as many miles on it as I used to,” he said. “I used to ride 1,000 miles a summer, now I ride maybe 200.” Turns out his name is Jerry, and he’s a cyclist. And I’m a jerk.

This morning, I was at the Down Tube cycle shop on Madison to finish my disc brake installation. There was a guy outside the shop waiting for it to open. He was riding a mountain bike, decked out in a leather jacket with an iPhone attached to his stem with — as it later turned out — Velcro. I had the bags and V-racks off the Packet Boat, which makes it look like a very badass chopper bike, if you don’t mind my saying so. He took off his headphones and complimented me on my bike. We started chatting. His name is Crews, and he runs Crews Hair 360, near one of the El Mariachi locations. We had a great talk about biking and bikes, and agreed to hook up again in the future.

Neither of those interactions would have happened in my car. So in addition to the health benefits and environmental benefits and blah blah blah, I really appreciate the social benefits.

Cycling: It’s Hip!

The only thing that’s as much fun as riding a bike is watching kids have fun riding bikes. My two sons, Bernie and John, spent part of their Sunday morning out on their bikes having a blast. Bernie was on his new Trek, while John was on his “dandy horse” or “draisine,” which I’m sure isn’t what they called it at the Radio Flyer factory. The draisine was invented by Baron Karl von Drais in Manheim, Germany and patented in 1818. It was really just a board with two wheels that you had to propel by walking or running along the ground.

A draisine (photo from WikiPedia)

I’ve read several books on the invention of the bicycle, and I never really understood why riding a draisine was any fun. That is, until I saw John on his bike. That kid can move!

Here are some photos from today’s cycling fun. Happy Bike Month! ]]> http://www.rocbike.com/2008/05/04/albany-boys-and-bikes-and-dandy-horses/feed/ 0 http://www.rocbike.com/2008/05/03/albany-bike-month-has-landed/ http://www.rocbike.com/2008/05/03/albany-bike-month-has-landed/#comments Sun, 04 May 2008 03:06:19 +0000 Jason Crane http://www.rocbike.com/?p=1258

Capital Bike Month officially kicked off Friday here in Albany with an urban ride and the opening of the Dream Wheels art exhibition. Bernie joined me on the Packet Boat (Xtracycle) for the urban ride. This is the kind of riding we do all the time, and it’s always fun to be joined by a gang of other cyclists.

We met at the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial on the corner of State and Henry Johnson (the same place that Critical Mass meets). We took a nice ride through Washington Park, then up New Scotland past our soon-to-be neighborhood, past Bernie’s soon-to-be school (#19) and up to Buckingham Lake. At about that point, it started to rain. Bernie was riding on the Packet Boat rather than pedaling, so he was getting cold. We headed back home and met up with Jen and John. Our intention was to go back downtown to see the Dream Wheels exhibit. As we’re not yet totally car-free, we drove down and found it impossible to park. Instead, we went to Stuyvesant Plaza and had ice cream and browsed around the Book House. Not a bad compromise.

Here are my photos from the very beginning of the ride:

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Dakota from Troy Bike Rescue on a tall bike of his own creation

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Ride leader Claire Nolan

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NYBC Program Manager Jenn Clunie (orange jacket), Tom (checkered hat)

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Dave (with Mickey Mouse ears), Randy and John

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Bernie and I get ready to cruise (Photo by Claire Nolan)

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The Packet Boat leaves port (Photo by Perry Woodin)

I took very few photos, but luckily there are many more from:

• Claire Nolan
• Perry Woodin

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That’s me in the background

In my continual quest to push my endurance, stamina and (some would argue) sanity to its utmost limits, I set off at O’DARK THIRTY this past Sunday morning, April 27th, to accomplish my first 300K Brevet, presented by Adirondack Ultra Cycling. For those unfamiliar or yet to be initiated into the world of LSD (Long Slow Distance), let me offer a quick definition supplied by RUSA:

Randonneuring: Randonneuring is long-distance unsupported endurance cycling. This style of riding is non-competitive in nature, and self-sufficiency is paramount. When riders participate in randonneuring events, they are part of a long tradition that goes back to the beginning of the sport of cycling in France and Italy. Friendly camaraderie, not competition, is the hallmark of randonneuring.

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Enjoying a snack on the ride

It was a bit of a cold start when the six hardy souls rolled out of Schuylerville 4:15am Sunday morning to temps hovering around 40 degrees and light rain. Cycling in the pitch dark, except for the too-dim wattage of commuter lights (note to self: next time, bring your Nightrider HID, no matter how heavy it is) offered an almost surreal experience as fog and mist swirled around our tires and projected eerie shadows back up at our lights. Being able to take over the roads all the way to Fort Edward was an empowering experience for cyclists all too often forced to hug the curb or take our chances with the treacherous objects lying in the shoulder as cars whiz by and refuse to share the road. Having that extra room to navigate proved especially fortuitous when I made the mistake of getting too close to the white line so slick with rain I hydroplaned straight into a crevice between the line and shoulder theretofore unseen in the darkness and it took all of my bike-handling skills learned on the trail to bring that front wheel back and stay upright. “Ahhhhh!!!! Whoa. That was close. Thank GOD I’m a mountain-biker. Everybody awake now?” :)

Luckily, the first hour and a half of dark rain yielded to muted daylight and cloudy skies; when the sun broke through around noon (?), we finally started to shed layers and dry off. It turned out to be a beautiful day to ride one’s bike and for those who cried “uncle” when they saw rain in the forecast, I’m sorry they missed out. The ride around Sacandaga Lake was astoundingly beautiful, especially when we climbed up to Hadley and enjoyed a brief peek at the overlook before continuing onwards to Corinth, Moreau, rural Saratoga county and finally back to our home base in Schuylerville.

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Gorgeous!

While I was experiencing serious sleep-deprivation (couldn’t get more than 3 hrs. the night before–nerves/anxiety/excitement?) and started throwing coffee down the hatch at every Stewart’s checkpoint to jazz myself up, I don’t recall feeling really physically fatigued until ~174 miles in. Considering my longest ride to date was the ADK 200K 27 days prior, I felt this to be a major breakthrough. Even more notable: managed to ride the entire course in my first 2 chain rings, even the bitch of a hill around mile 165 that brought me to granny last month. Dig deep, push, and…you’re up! You’re there! Let’s GO! Clearly all that spring training “Belgian knee warmer style” with my racing friends who kick my butt each and every time we ride together has paid off.

191.51 miles in 11:59 hrs ride time, 14:25 hrs. time out on the road. Not too shabby, considering our slow start in the darkness, 2 flats, 9 control checkpoints/stops and needing to stop at least half a dozen times to fiddle with my front brake that kept rubbing against the rim (grrr).

Yes, I’m tired. Yes, I’m sore as hell. I woke up Monday morning and every joint, sinew and muscle fiber in my body ached. But knowing this exhaustion was well-earned makes it somehow all worthwhile.

As Steve Young says, “The principle is competing against yourself. It’s about self-improvement, about being better than you were the day before.”

I was downtown today visiting the members of my union who work at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. As I left the hotel, I came upon a Falun Gong protest at the Capital building. I didn’t have my regular crappy camera, but I had my crappy phone camera:

And this week, on my ride to yoga class, where I met my daughter, my new Ortlieb panniers managed the task of carrying our two yoga mats admirably.

I splurged on the panniers after I decided that an XtraCycle is not right for me, at this point. (Sorry, Jason!) An XtraCycle is great if you want to be able to give someone else a ride, but my 17 and 19-year olds aren’t likely to want to be seen on the back of their mom’s bike. And everyone else I might be traveling with would likely ride their own! So, I got the panniers instead; they hold plenty of groceries and are very easy to use. I recommend them if you’re in the market.

Bikes, chickens, and yoga…together here on RocBike.

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Dozens of friendly people, all on bikes.

What’s not to like?

Since I moved to Albany, I’ve been working a lot and socializing very little. Tonight, I met a huge gang of fun folks all at once at Critical Mass. Much like Rochester, this CM is a very laid-back affair. All different types of cyclists on all different types of bikes, including two guys on unicycles with 36″ wheels. Amazing!

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We met at the Soldiers and Sailors Monument in Washington Square Park. There were about 30 riders, ranging in age from 1 or 2 to … um … older than that. Experienced. Then again, I was probably in the top 10 in terms of age. When the hell did that happen? Ah well, we pudgy Pillsbury Doughboy types gotta have our day, too, right?

The weather was drop-dead gorgeous. Perfect temps, late enough that the sun was very mellow, a light breeze. It was everything you could ask for in cycling weather.

Before the ride started, we were approached by an Albany cop who was wondering what we were up to. He was alerted by the presence of the Red Bull crew — two young women who travel in a car with a huge Red Bull can, distributing canned joy for free to all takers. The officer was concerned because there was a run/walk happening in the park, and he didn’t want us colliding with the participants. We told him we were about to split, and he couldn’t have been nicer, so all was well. A few minutes later, we were out on the street.

I won’t recount the route, but we covered a decent amount of territory — maybe 10 miles up Central, through Pine Hills, down Clinton through Arbor Hill, up State (which, as Gavin said, “sucks every time”). By the way, if you’ve never been passed by a unicyclist up a steep hill, it’s something to see. One wheel. No gears. Faster than me. Oy!

At one point, going north on Hackett, we spotted another cyclist maybe a half-mile ahead. A cyclist named Carolyn and I hammered up to 22 or 23 miles an hour to catch up to the guy (and believe me, hammering on the Packet Boat/Xtracycle is quite a challenge). When we got there, I asked if he wanted to join us, and he nervously declined. We looked back, only to realize that the entire group was turning off onto another street. So it was hammerfest number two to catch up.

We also went on a tour of all the homes a cyclist named Marylou lives in or has lived in, including her folks’ place. It was very charming, although we didn’t get to meet her parents.

I was happy to import one thing from Rochester — the tradition of yelling “Happy Friday!” to folks along the route. It really seems to have a positive effect on the folks who see us pass by. Plus, I just like yelling in public.

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After the slog up State, the mass had split into two groups. A bunch of us waited at the corner of Lark and Madison in front of the Dunkin’ Donuts, which is a hangout for motorcyclists. I chatted with a guy named Louis who struck up a conversation because of my Silver Surfer t-shirt. After a while, the gang caught up and we headed to the Palais Royale. They don’t have food, though, so about half the group went to The Madison instead, where we feasted on pizza, fries, onion rings, burgers, soda and beer.

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Eventually, that group broke up and I rode up Madison toward home. On the way, I ran into Tom, one of the CM riders. He said a bunch of cylists were at Mahar’s on Madison, and he offered to show me the way. Eric, another CMer, joined us, and we met up with the gang at Mahar’s, which is really worth visiting if you’re into beer. And pretty cool even if you’re not.

After Mahar’s, it was off to Randy’s House Of Bike Porn. This is a lovely house just a few blocks north of where I’m living. It features a basement with maybe 30 bikes — tall bikes, tandems, every kind of road and street bike. It’s amazing. Some of us sat outside and chatted while the rest ogled the bikes and took them for test rides.

All in all, it couldn’t have been a better intro to this part of Albany’s bike culture.

I think I’m going to like it here.

I start off by going east down pine, past this park with this pond. Back in those trees there is an adventure trail complex that is accessible from Birch street.

I guess youth groups come here in the summer for team building exercises. There were things like wooden walls to climb and rails to walk across (I didn’t get pics of that stuff).

This bridge crosses a narrow point in the pond, and leads to more adventure (trails). The other side comes out on a soccer complex on the main road I normally go to work. I can go that way or back through the trails and get to work down birch.

Another route:

These power lines run along the crest of the hill behind campus. I tried riding there from this point near my house (after a healthy climb up the hill). This part of the trail is pretty rough, so I gave up and looked for a different point to jump on. I found it on Redstone Hill Road:

This isn’t some sort of public multi-use path or anything, it’s obviously a service path for the powerlines, but I could tell that people had brought bikes and atv’s through here before.

Eventually, I emerged from the trail, behind campus, next to the satellite farm. But there’s a fence there!

To keep me out or to keep the satellites in? I guess I could have assumed I couldn’t get through this way, but wanted to try. I ended up going around the satellite farm.

I found a weird little trail that cuts off from the powerline trail through the woods next to the satellite farm, with religious markers nailed to the trees, as well as a statue and big cross in a clearing…

The trail took me out to the main road, right next to campus. I couldn’t find anything there that marked it or gave any indication that there was a trail there. Weird.

on campus, the other side of the satellite farm, they look so little from down here. Campus is actually pretty nice to ride around.

I work on the 3rd floor of the building you can see over the parking lot. And here is a legless coyote:

They’ve installed a few of these around campus to help scare away the geese that take over campus every summer. I don’t think the geese are fooled though, there were definitely still some geese hanging around about 20 feet away.

A bike rack conveniently located right outside my building. The Univega road bike on the left and the Roadmaster mtb on the right have not moved since I started three months ago, and probably several months before that. The wheels are flat and the chains are rusty. But that Trek just started showing up in the last couple of weeks since it got nice. I am no longer the only bike commuter on campus! Hopefully more soon, with bike-to-work week coming up, I have a friend who is helping to push it as a company-wide initiative.

Anyway, I hope that if you ride to work every day, you can find at least one or two fun alternative routes to get there, and live it up!

I don’t really have a “commute” because I don’t have an office that I go to each day. Instead, my day is a combination of work from home and travel to the hotels and other sites where our UNITE HERE union members work. Most of the sites I represent are in downtown Albany, but two of my hotels are in Schenectady. Up until today, I’ve driven to Schenectady for site visits, but today I decided to ride.

I’ve been down Central Avenue enough to know that if I can avoid it, I will. It’s congested, there are no shoulders, and it’s just not that nice to look at, either. If you start at my house and take Central all the way to Schenectady, it’s a shade over 14 miles one way. I plotted out a different course, though, and it turned out to be a lovely ride.

Rather than Central, I started out on Sand Creek Road, which goes from Albany to Colonie, past Colonie High School and the Colonie Center Mall. I stayed on Sand Creek until it ended at Watervliet Shaker Road, which is also Routes 155 and 157. I stayed on that road until it became Consaul Road, and that took me right to State Street in Schenectady. It was a beautiful ride. Lots of trees, a fair amount of open farmland, wide shoulders most of the way and relatively few cars. And it’s just over a mile further than the direct route down Central Ave. I made the 15-ish miles in an hour and 20 minutes on the Packet Boat (Xtracycle). The temperature was perfect for the ride — just below 70 degrees by the time I arrived in Schenectady. I wasn’t really even sweating, which was nice, because I did the ride in my work clothes.

After the site visit, I cycled down to Schenectady’s Little Italy, where a co-worker had recommended Perreca’s Bakery. I got some capicola, salami and turket, fresh bread and two slices of delicious homemade pizza. I ate the pizza at the outdoor tables next to the bakery, basking in the sun and the light breeze, then loaded up the goodies in the Packet Boat and set off along the reverse route back to Albany. It was another peaceful and exhilarating ride — if you can describe something as both “peaceful” and “exhilarating.”

When we got there we enjoyed delicious sushi. Cyclists were out like crazy today. The weather was perfect for cycling.

When I was at the Adirondack Sports & Fitness Expo yesterday, two NYBC folks — Amy and her daughter Laurel — told me about Buckingham Lake (also known as Buckingham Pond or Rafts Pond), an idyllic little spot right outside of downtown Albany. The lake is nestled at the end of several neighborhood streets. I rode down one of them and found Laurel in her front yard, picking lovely little blue flowers.

“I remember you from yesterday!” she said, and handed me a flower. We chatted for a minute, then I cycled off down the street to the lake.

A sign at the entrance had this bit of history:

This lake has been known by a number of different names. Among them were Raft’s Pond and Berkshire Pond. It is shown on an 1884 map as a portion of the westerly branch of the Beaver Creek. At that time it was just outside the city limits. This body is fed by a perched water table which surfaces in the area of the lake as well as from storm-water runoff. During 1931 the City of Albany acquired property around Buckingham Lake and ordered the grading of the land which continued through 1933. In 1977, the lake was dredged and in 1992 the stilling basic west of the lake was added. Aerators were added to improve water quality in 1997. The park and surrounding area are a part of the City of Albany park system.

Talk about an urban oasis! The lake was teeming with ducks, robins and other birds that someone smarter than I could probably identify. There were joggers, walkers, parents with strollers, adults with kids on trail-a-bikes, mountain bikers — you name it, someone was doing it at Buckingham Lake. I docked the Packet Boat on the shore of the lake and read for a while, stopping to take pictures of the cyclists as they passed.

After a while, I hopped on the Packet Boat, held my camera in one hand and shot a video of the trail ride around the lake. It’s about 4 and a half minutes long, and a little wobbly in some bits:

No, not the city in California. The jazz drumming genious Chico Hamilton. I interviewed him this evening for The Jazz Session, my jazz interview show. I went downtown to the Hampton Inn in Albany in plenty of time for our interview, even giving myself enough time to hang out at Melville’s Mug. I met Courtney and Dylan, two of the staff there, and they asked if I was connected to Fort Orange Cycling. Reminder: Mention Fort Orange Cycling and get 20% off your order at Melville’s Mug!

The Mug is about a block from the Hampton Inn where Chico was staying, and where the interview was happening. I headed over to the lobby and called his manager. He was also in the lobby of the Hampton Inn, but he was in the lobby of a Hampton Inn on Wolf Road in a completely other part of Albany. So there was that. He was very cool, and asked whether I could make it to the gig in time to interview Chico. “No problem,” I said.

I hopped back on the Packet Boat (Xtracycle) and headed off toward the gig. It was hot. Really hot. About 80 degrees, and I was wearing jeans and a long-sleeved shirt. Because my new tattoo can’t be in the sun for 10 days, I had to leave the sleeves of my shirt most of the way down, rather than rolling them up. Did I mention it was hot? I also had my recording gear, laptop, small mic stands, etc. on the Packet Boat, so it was heavy. And hot. Quite hot.

I made it with 10 minutes to spare and did a little sink-bath in the men’s room. The interview went fine. Chico is a very cool guy. He released four albums in 2006 and one in 2007, with two more out this year. In 2006 he was 85. In 2007 he was 86. This year, he turns 87. The first question I asked him was, “What do you eat for breakfast that makes it possible for you to cut all these records?”

Chico and the band (zing!) played their asses off, and a good time was had by all.

I rode home with the Down Low Glow dishing out the good vibes. Riding with the DLG is like having a force field around you. Cars actually pass with feet to spare rather than inches.

As I was getting into my neighborhood, I passed three young guys sitting on a porch. One of them yelled out “PIIIIIIMP!” I laughed out load and they all joined in.

I ate some of my wife’s delicious karaage on the porch by the light of the DLG. A beautiful day.

Jen and the boys are visiting from Rochester. We had lunch at Richfield Park today, and all four of us got there on two bikes. Bernie rode on the deck of the Packet Boat (Xtracycle), and John was strapped into one of the Freeloader bags. Jen rode my Raleigh Sprite, because her new bike is still in Rochester. It was a gorgeous day — over 70 degrees, a light breeze, blue sky. We took a picnic lunch with us and enjoyed every minute of the ride and the lunchtime.

We also rode over to the Down Tube bike shop on Madison and got a new Trek bike for Bernie. His old bike was falling apart, and he needed to step up to something a bit older. His Trek is a 20″ bike with both a coaster break and a rear brake on the handlebar. We all rode home through Washington Park. A cyclist named Casey rode up beside us and said, “Nice trailer. Hey wait, that’s not a trailer, is it? That’s awesome.”

When we got home, Jen asked Bernie if he liked his new bike. “I don’t like it,” he said. “I love it.”

Even better, John actually fell asleep while strapped into the Packet Boat. He slept most of the way home from the bike shop, still holding onto one of the straps with one hand. It was just about the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. Maybe he’ll be a sailor. I’ve heard they can sleep while holding onto the rigging.

I had a nice chat with a guy named Jim who cycles as his main transportation. He rides a Bridgestone MB1 from about 20 years ago. He was admiring the Packet Boat outside my “satellite office,” the Muddy Cup on Madison. I also ran into Fred at the Down Tube. He was the guy I met at the end of my driveway last night while I was taking my inaugural GlowMotion 08 ride. “Nice to see you in daylight,” he said.

Jen commented last night that people are quite friendly here. As far as the cycling community is concerned, I’ve got to say I agree.

We had lunch at Richfield Park today, and all four of us got there on two bikes. Bernie rode on the deck of the Packet Boat (Xtracycle), and John was strapped into one of the Freeloader bags. Jen rode my Raleigh Sprite, because her new bike is still in Rochester. It was a gorgeous day — over 70 degrees, a light breeze, blue sky. We took a picnic lunch with us and enjoyed every minute of the ride and the lunchtime.

We also rode over to the Down Tube bike shop on Madison and got a new Trek bike for Bernie. His old bike was falling apart, and he needed to step up to something a bit older. His Trek is a 20″ bike with both a coaster break and a rear brake on the handlebar. We all rode home through Washington Park. A cyclist named Casey rode up beside us and said, “Nice trailer. Hey wait, that’s not a trailer, is it? That’s awesome.”

When we got home, Jen asked Bernie if he liked his new bike. “I don’t like it,” he said. “I love it.”

Even better, John actually fell asleep while strapped into the Packet Boat. He slept most of the way home from the bike shop, still holding onto one of the straps with one hand. It was just about the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. Maybe he’ll be a sailor. I’ve heard they can sleep while holding onto the rigging.

I had a nice chat with a guy named Jim who cycles as his main transportation. He rides a Bridgestone MB1 from about 20 years ago. He was admiring the Packet Boat outside my “satellite office,” the Muddy Cup on Madison. I also ran into Fred at the Down Tube. He was the guy I met at the end of my driveway last night while I was taking my inaugural GlowMotion 08 ride. “Nice to see you in daylight,” he said.

Jen commented last night that people are quite friendly here. As far as the cycling community is concerned, I’ve got to say I agree.

My driveway is about five feet long, and I had not reached the end of it before two cyclists stopped me. The guy in the lead said, “Man, I thought I had some lights, but this is the ultimate!” We chatted for a few minutes about Xtracycles and DLGs.

Then it was off on the inaugural GlowMotion 08. Here’s a sampling of the feedback from people on front porches, sidewalks, park benches, bar decks, and on the street in general:

• “Look at this motherfucker!”
• “Dude, is that a moped?” (Me — “It’s a bicycle!”) “It’s a bicycle! Ha ha! Cool!”
• “Nice glow!” (I swear that wasn’t scripted. She actually yelled “Nice glow!”)
• “Nice bike!”
• “Phat bike, man!”
• “That’s gotta be a fun ride!”
• “Cool pimped-out bike!”

I thought the Xtracycle was a conversation starter. Add the Down Low Glow and you’ve got yourself the ultimate bike advocacy tool. Who wouldn’t want to ride a bike that looks that cool? And I’m a geek. Imagine what it would look like with a rider as cool as the bike. Dangerous, even!

Get yours today! You’ll be glad you did.

(Derek, if you read this — my wife said today, “I think I’m changing my mind about getting an Xtracycle.” Bwah-hah-hah-hah-hah! My evil plan is working!)

My partner Tanya and I rode it, in preparation for that 45-mile bike ride that really is going to happen…only a few weeks left! This ride will be a portion of that longer ride.

It started out great…a beautiful sunny day. We stopped at High Falls and watched the peregrine falcons nesting at Kodak Headquarters chase away a kestrel.

The RG&E station at the lower falls produced a nice rainbow, and you can see from the turbulence that it was a windy day.

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We had an uneventful ride up to the lake. There were lots of people using the trail, which was great to see. At the lake, this group of sailboats caught my eye. I know nothing about sailing, but they sure were pretty.

On the way back…well, that’s the part where I thought I was gonna get squished. The trail narrows significantly under the Veteran’s Memorial Bridge. And, there’s a slight curve going north that means that you might want to be aware that there could be cyclists/walkers coming towards you, going south, or you could run right into one another.

But, sometimes awareness eludes the best of us. I’m right at the narrowest point, coming south, and three cyclists zoom by me. The first one and I each startled the other; by the time either of us regained some sense, the other two were upon me. He yelled, “Rider!” but it was really too late. I didn’t get hurt or anything, just a bit startled. Instinctually, I hugged the wall to my right, not realizing until a few minutes later that I had scraped up my right arm.

The lesson–beware the trail under the Veteran’s Memorial Bridge!

Otherwise, it was great riding all the way back, although the hill climbing out of the lower falls isn’t my favorite.

We took a break at the Center for High Falls which documents the history of this region. Rochester tried to make this area an entertainment district, but it flopped miserably. The architecture is really interesting, though, and now there are plans in the works for housing. Let’s hope that works out better!

All in all, a great way to get back outside on the bike!

Bob, my trusty hybrid commuter

no bike rack at the stop-and-shop. So I used their empty garden display rack.

It was turning out to be a beautiful morning so after I got some groceries I stopped at dunkin fatpills for some breakfast, then earned it by riding up the hill to Page Park to eat it.

there were ducks.

It’s amazing how nice weather can change a quick trip to the grocery store into a 2-hour bike adventure. After I finished breakfast I ended up going farther up the hill from the pond in the park…

Till I found probably one of the highest points within the park:

extreme commuter bike!

Now some people might cringe at the thought of big hills, and I admit I was spoiled in Rochester by the relative lack of them. But since coming to the hills of Connecticut, I am re-discovering the fundamental truth. If you go up, you get to go down :)

Anyway, here a few shots from around the capital today.