Casey Neistat contests a ticked from NYPD for not riding in the bike lane. Bravo!
The Real Reason Why Bicycles are the Key to Better Cities
May 24, 2011 By Leave a Comment
It’s true—put someone on a (comfortable) bike and as often as not, they’re a convert.
We all know the talking points. The benefits of bicycles have been tirelessly elaborated upon; bicycles improve health, ease congestion, save money, use less space, and provide efficient transportation with zero fuel consumption and zero carbon emissions. The culmination of a population on two wheels can have a drastic impact on the overall wellbeing of a city. However, none of these come close to the most meaningful aspect of cycling, a factor that cannot be quantified but has endless value to those fighting to improve their communities.
The most vital element for the future of our cities is that the bicycle is an instrument of experiential understanding.
On a bicycle, citizens experience their city with deep intimacy, often for the first time. For a regular motorist to take that two or three mile trip by bicycle instead is to decimate an enormous wall between them and their communities.
Full article at sustainablecitiescollective.com.
It’s dangerous out there
October 27, 2010 By Leave a Comment
On Monday I was extolling the virtues of my easy-peasy commute—the low traffic, the enclosed bike rack, the just-the-right-amount-of-biking—I’m really enjoying it.
Today it snowed. Being the first snow of the season, it wasn’t anything too serious—just a little accumulation on the grass and some wet roads—not a big deal. I jumped on the Bad Boy and off I went. Everything was going as well as could be expected.
Or so I thought. I failed to realize that traffic and weather aren’t the only concerns a bike commuter faces.
I unloaded my bike and got ready to do the two miles into work, I donned helmet, hood, gloves, and pant cuff—all systems go.
But as I swung my leg over my bike I heard a tremendous RRRIIIIIIIIIIIPPP.
Feeling around the only spot in my pants that would tear, I came to the awful realization that there were more dangers on the roads than just cars. More to fear than the weather.
There is also the complete and utter humiliation of facing a day—or even a few hours—at work with a hole in the crotch of your pants the size of a softball.
Oh, hello there.
So there I am in downtown Salt Lake, 50 miles from my house where another pair of pants waits ready in the closet, my wife and kids in bed soon to be waking and preparing for school, and no department stores in the area opening for another couple of hours. Here I am, facing the prospect of waltzing into work with a hole in my pants so big, it would embarrass a stripper.
Right then I would have cheerfully ridden my bike on a New Jersey turnpike in the middle of a blizzard in exchange for a pair of pants that weren’t so ventilated.
Then it dawned on me—I’m a mile from a 24-hour Wal Ghetto-Mart. Surely it’s open 24-hours…
Off I went, feeling very air conditioned.
A mile down the road I rode up to an open Wal-Mart. Yea! But….
Up until this point, I was on a dark street, on a bike where I could double over and pull my coat over my gaping pant-wound. Now I had to walk into the middle of a store, past dozens of people, visit with a checker, and make an exit—all without getting arrested for indecent exposure.
This was one of those days that I’m really glad I carry a messenger bag. I lengthened the strap and brought it up in front to cover my southern exposure. Also, in order to distract from the obvious hole (and to prevent it from being stolen), I brought my bike into the store. If something was to get someone’s attention, I hoped it was my bike rather than my pants.
It’s a curious thing about the cliental of the Ghetto-Mart on 13th in Salt Lake. They’re apparently not the type to do a lot of shopping for khaki pants. Ghetto-Mart only stocked two brands of khaki colored pants. And one was a heavy-duty pant made for blue-collar work and really shouldn’t even count.
I grabbed the only pair in my size and walked myself up to the checker.
“Is that all for you today, sir?”
(And why, may I ask, is the only checker available in situations like these is a young woman?)
“Yep. Thanks.” Yep, just a pair of khaki pants—just like the ones I’m already wearing!
“You know,” she says, looking down at my bike, “it’s pretty dangerous to ride right now. I wouldn’t recommend it.”
“Yeah?” I say smiling, “I’ll take my chances with traffic.”
I wouldn’t mind getting hit about right now—there’s at least more dignity in it.
(Postscript: Say what you will about Wal-Mart, but as for me I’m glad there’s a store I can walk into at 6:30 am with a bike and a gaping hole in my crotch and not get so much as a second look. It’s a rare consumer need, but I’m happy they exist to fill it.)
I’m a bad boy
October 25, 2010 By 1 Comment
I mentioned a couple of weeks back that I was considering commuting via bike and bus—this week is my first full week of that reality. Last week, before the vacation to Oregon, I bought a Canondale Bad Boy, so as to let my protect my mountain bike from the indignity of slick tires and me from the indignity of a rooster tail up my back.
I’m happy to report that the Bad Boy is a good little commuter ride.
This week is my first full week of commuting and I’m pretty darn excited about it. My route is low key—only 6 miles per day all on low-traffic roads. The bus has an under-the-bus bike storage system (awesome!) that nobody but me uses and wi-fi which is pretty sweet. It’s all very posh—for public transit.
But it’s not all roses. There were a couple days right after I decided to start biking that I didn’t need to even wear a jacket. But that, I’m afraid to say, is no longer the case. This week we were hit with some moisture and today I came in looking like I was wearing a pair of khaki chaps—everything on the front of my legs was soaked, the back completely dry.
Khaki chaps
It’s pretty awesome walking around work completely soaked for a few hours.
Remind this bad boy to get some rain pants.
Commuting
September 29, 2010 By 1 Comment
My check engine light has been on for upwards of six months now. Normally that causes me a great deal of heartburn. There are a only a few things I loathe more than my car breaking down.
Haircuts, ipecac syrup, and taxes for example.
Suffice it to say, I hope a special place in hell is reserved for unreliable cars.
However, my car showed no signs of failure. Check engine light a’blazing it kept brining me to and from work with no side effects. Being extremely busy with work I never bothered to do more than a token Free Engine Check at the local Autozone. Surprisingly that yielded not one, but six different things that could be wrong with my ol’ car.
Thanks for narrowing that down Mr. Computer Diagnostic tool.
The Check Engine light would have stayed on indefinitely if I’d had my druthers. After all, the car ran fine.
I’m happy to report that, for reasons unknown, this particular car failure hasn’t ruffled me in the least. Maybe because I expect things to go wrong on a car with 215,000 miles on it. Maybe it’s I’m getting less high strung as I age. Maybe because I’m secretly hoping that my trusty old Protege will die in his sleep and I can buy an Subaru Outback or a Toyota Tundra.
Nah. Who needs a new car when your old one runs just fine?
With my registration due in October and this being the last week in September (I’m all about procrastinating, see), I finally had to set aside whatever else I have going in my life and get it into the shop.
The way it’s looking now, that little check engine light is going to cost me upwards of $1500. The car only Blue Books for $2000.
With those thoughts in mind, and being deprived of a vehicle, I decided to brave the bus this morning.
I rode my bike to the stop and waited around for a while until the bus came. The weather was a in the 50s, pleasant and dry. When it arrived, I loaded the Cobia under the bus, paid my fare and sat down in a pretty comfy seat. These express busses aren’t your typical round-the-town fare. It was warm and I had wi-fi. Or, at least, I was supposed to have wi-fi.
Instead of doing everything possible to stay awake like I normally do, I simply laid my head down and rested. When we passed a four-car pile-up I didn’t do anything but rubberneck. I texted my wife. I thought about opening up my laptop and working while underway.
This isn’t half bad. I might be able to do this full-time. Do I really need a car?
Of course I need a car. I can’t ride my bike around everywhere. I can’t take an hour to ride into Provo on errands. I can’t haul stuff. I can’t take one of my kids to an appointment. I can’t stop for a quick errand after work. And my mountain bike isn’t exactly set up for wet-weather riding so going to early morning church meeting and coming in clean of mud, dirt, and slush would be almost impossible in the winter.
But I still wonder. Can I go for six or eight months without a car? Should I try it? Should I sell my car and get a sweet commuter ride?
Decisions, decisions…
Cold weather riding
January 12, 2010 By 4 Comments
I recently invested in cold weather gear for the off-season and have enjoyed getting out and riding again. What with my old-man hip injury, and holiday eating fests I’ve gained close to 5 lbs and am ready to shed it.
In order to tackle the bitter cold, here’s what I purchased:
Under Armour Coldgear Blitz Mock—$60
Under Armour Coldgear Core Ventilated Leggings—$60
Under Armour Cold Gear Hood-Black—$25
Planet Bike Borealis Fall/Winter Full Finger Gloves—$25
In addition to the above items, I also wear:
- a pair of Marker Basic ski pants (uninsulated)
- a pair of exercise pants
- a fleece pullover
- a wind breaker shell
- a pair of thin glove liners
I still need something for my feet; after about 15 minutes they are two immobile blocks of ice.
The tights and shirt work well, but at anything under 40° I need extra layers. The exercise pants/fleece add insulation and the ski pants/windbreaker provide wind protection. I rigged up a clip (soon to be velcro) in order to keep the pants out of the chain.
I highly recommend getting the UA hood. The last couple of days when it’s been below 10° the hood has kept me toasty warm. No cold ears, no wind problems, no breezes down the neck. It’s rock solid and thin enough to fit under my helmet with only minimal adjustment. Breathing through it is a little tough, but I find that once I warm up I can pull the mask off my face and I’m fine.
The one thing, aside from needing something for my feet, is I need to find a decent lube for cole weather. I feel like I’m always on the uphill and I’m finding that my rear derailer—despite being recently cleaned and relubed—completely froze when geared low.
Now if we could just get rid of this horrible inversion and get some clean air…
