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

Wish I could hold the images and sounds from this morning’s ride

The Canada geese honking on the Genesee River

The statue in front of Bausch & Lomb as I turned the corner

St. Mary’s Church to my left

The dead pigeon on the side of the road, only partially flattened

The throng of people at the bus stop at Main and Clinton

Everyone in line for coffee and donuts as I wheel into the building

It’s not specific to cycling, but some RocBike readers may be interested in my post today at HandCraftedLife on reasons to get out and be active despite the weather.

I’ve written before about visiting Canada, in the previous case, Toronto. Recently I took a trip to Montreal and was very inspired by all the bike commuters. People, if they can bike commute in Montreal and Toronto, we can certainly do it! Well, at least in terms of the weather. What those cities have, however, that we do not, is infrastructure.

For one thing, they have BIXI’s!. I love these. I love how they look, and I hopped on one and loved how it rode as well. Just one speed, very sturdy, and with a cute little front basket. And fenders.

You can buy a year’s subscription for $78 (although the season ends November 30…okay, I guess the weather gets to them, too). Or, you can use a credit card to rent on a less frequent basis. And, the first half hour is free. There are many stations everywhere (they’re the red dots on the map), so I can imagine that you could bike from station to station, picking up and returning at each station, and not pay anything, and get all around the city.

They also have bike lanes, which are separated from the roadway by a narrow median. One morning I went out running and all you could see down the road on the bike lanes was cyclist after cyclist going to work. Unfortunately, I didn’t have my camera with me, but it was really an inspiring sight.

And so, I came home inspired! I have been bike commuting more than ever, including this route, with a stop at the University of Rochester both to and from.

The only minor challenge was dealing with clothing issues. I have to be dressed professionally at work, and I work up a sweat quickly. My solution was to wear black pants that look professional but are comfortable to ride in, then I just had to pop into a bathroom to change shirts and shoes. If we had more of a bike commuting culture, I can imagine it would be more acceptable to come to work a bit more casually, but I don’t think we’re there yet!

Ah, well, I could always move to Canada. (Hey, I’d get free health care too!)

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.

(Thanks to Bike Commuters for the link.)

I learned about the fun blog Bike Skirt from an issue of Urban Velo magazine. On Monday, Elisa (pictured above) posted a good checklist of items every summer bike commuter needs. Check it out, and tell ‘em RocBike sent ya.

Like Ethan, I went to see the movie Veer at the Madison Theater last night. I went to the late show, and was impressed at the size of the crowd coming out of the early show – particularly on a rainy Thursday night. I recognized most of the folks, but there were also some new faces, which was cool.

Also impressive was the organized presence of the Albany Bicycle Coalition (ABC) at the event. I was greeted by a volunteer named Rohan when I arrived. He had stickers, copies of magazines from one of the sponsors, Urban Velo, and sign-up sheets to collect data about the attendees for future recruitment by the ABC.

I thought the movie itself was fun and often inspiring. I’m not sure it’s a great recruiting tool for people looking to attract “just plain bike riders,” given that it focuses on the cycling counterculture of Portland, Oregon, much more than on everyday commuting cyclists. That’s not really a negative, though, because I don’t think the film’s focus is on recruiting. To me, it was a snapshot of the cycling scene in one place at one time. As such a snapshot, I think the filmmakers did a fine job capturing the freewheeling, adventurous and confident spirit of Portland cyclists.

The film also spends some time on the process of lobbying for passage of a new bike law increasing the penalties for reckless drivers who injure or kill vulnerable road users. This footage is split up throughout the film. It’s great to see an organized, professional approach to bike lobbying, even though there’s not much substance to the lobbying segments. For example, there’s no detail on the crafting of the legislation or on exactly how the lobbying occurs. Once again, though, I think that’s probably beyond the scope of the film.

One part of Veer that I wondered about was the amount of time spent on ZooBombing, in which cyclists ride mini-bikes downhill as fast as they can, starting at the top of a hill near the Portland Zoo. Some of the ZooBombing footage is interspersed with an interview with a local police officer. He’s made to look fairly ridiculous as he describes the ZooBombers’ violations of traffic laws in their downhill races. I don’t know, though. From what I could see in the movie (and that’s the sum total of my knowledge about ZooBombing), it looked like the cyclists were flagrantly and dangerously violating the law – riding with few if any lights at night through stop signs in residential neighborhoods. In most debates between law enforcement and cyclists, my experience has been that law enforcement tends to be ill-informed or unconcerned about cyclists’ rights. In this case, though, it’s hard to fault a cop who thinks ZooBombing is dangerous. And it’s odd that the cycling advocates in the film never acknowledge that. (I’d love to hear your opinions in the comments section.)

On the whole, I enjoyed Veer. I found parts of it inspiring, such as the various bike advocacy and training programs for kids and adults. It was also fun to watch people just enjoying a cycling lifestyle. And above all, kudos to Bob from Liberty On Bikes! for bringing it to us, and for everything he’s doing to make Albany a better place for cyclists.

Once again, a bicyclist beat a car and a bus commuter in the Albany commuter contest. The story and photos are at All Over Albany.

(Thanks for Claire Nolan for the link!)

It’s because of little moments like this one:

From Yehuda Moon & The Kickstand Cyclery