Bad news and good news

The bad news:

Last month I had a conversation with a well-meaning citizen, who was fretting about the safety of cyclists she observed on U.S. Highway 80 east of Savannah — otherwise known as "Tybee Road." She wondered if there was a solution for keeping these cyclists off the narrow, high speed route to the beach. She asked, "What if the city or county built some kind of facility? Then they could all go there to ride so they wouldn't have to be out on the streets."

Sadly her perception of bicyclists and their needs is probably shared by a significant portion of the local population. As I've so often complained over the last two years, bicycles are often perceived as toys or as exercise equipment, but not as vehicles. I tried to explain that her proposed cycling park would be absolutely useless to me and others who use bicycles for transportation. She didn't seem to get it.

And now the good news:

• The number of regular bicycle commuters working in my building has remained high throughout the summer. The bike rack usually starts emptying out as the temperature climbs. Not this year. They just keep on pedaling.
  

• A community activist, who has worked tirelessly to fight "road improvement projects" that destroy neighborhoods and induce additional automobile traffic, has recently taken up transportational cycling.
  

• Finally, there's the Xtracycle situation. I first mentioned the product here on Thursday, Aug. 18, 2005 and early last month I finally ordered a Free Radical of my own. While I was waiting for it to arrive, I started prepping myself for the role of Savannah's only Xtracycle owner. Then I saw a man riding one down Habersham Street and a couple weeks later, a woman riding a Free Radical-equipped Trek mountain bike downtown. So, I'm happy to report that I'm one of at least three weirdos riding around Savannah on "Sports Utility Bicycles." I hope there will be more of us soon.

I'm planning to write my early impressions of the product and post some photos (I'm currently between digital cameras) soon. Please stay tuned.

A new cycling hazard?

On Friday evening I pedaled to the Jones Red and White Market for some groceries. About three blocks north of the Habersham Village shopping center, I experienced an instant and intense stinging sensation in my eyes. It was so severe that I had to blindly brake to a stop at the curb. Only after rubbing by eyes with a handkerchief, I was able to continue (though squinting) to my destination.

Then I saw it: A bright yellow twin engine airplane flying just above the treetops.

On the way home I saw a yellow helicopter, working the neighborhood from the other end. Chatham County Mosquito Control was delivering a little shock and awe to the insect population of Ardsley Park and I my eyes were collateral damage. They were a little irritated for the rest of the night, but fine the next day. The real question is, how much of the stuff did I inhale?

First post of the new Bike Year

The second anniversary of Bike Year passed without comment from me. My readers (if there are any left) are probably wondering what happened to me. Did I keep riding? Or did I hang up my bike? Well, it's been a little of both. I've probably driven more frequently in the last 30 days than any time since I started this blog. I'm using home repairs (which often required me to return home during the workday) and the high temperatures of the last week as my primary excuses.

As of last Friday, however, I'm back in the saddle. And I have a new addition to my stable (more about that soon).

While I have not been on bicycles lately, bicycles have been on my mind. I attended an informational meeting about the Coastal Georgia Greenway project and volunteered to set up a Web site for the group, which can be found here. I'm also researching shared lane pavement markings and preparing a proposal for local application for a subcommittee of a committee of the metropolitan planning organization. So I've not been completely useless.

Thunder Dome!

There's been a lot of grumbling lately about funds earmarked for the rehabilitation of Savannah City Hall.

Folks are balking at the project which will include "repointing, epoxy injection and waterproofing of exterior stone; removing, rebuilding and reinstalling the cupola; repairs and modifications to the gold gilded copper dome roof and providing new gold gilding to dome and cupola."

The total cost of the project is $2.2 million.

Personally, I'm not opposed to the project. I think fine public buildings are a community asset. Or, as U.S. Supreme Court Justice Lewis F. Powell, Jr. wrote, "Public buildings often accurately reflect the beliefs, priorities, and aspirations of a people."

I'd hate to see what kind of public buildings we'd have if we listened to those complaining about the city hall project. I suspect if they had their way, our public buildings would have as much appeal as a Best Buy or Toys 'R' Us store, all cinderblock walls and corrugated metal.

Still, it's fun to play the game and imagine how much bicycle infrastructure $2.2 million would buy. And it's hard not to be jealous when reading about projects in other cities, announced by city officials who realize the value of transportational cycling to their communities. Again, I'm not against public spending to rehabilitate handsome public buildings. I just wish some of the people who work inside them would try riding their bikes to work every once in awhile. I've occasionally seen an assistant to the city manager riding to work. Are there others? I can't help but think that if more city officials took to the streets on two wheels, they'd see just how far behind the curve we are.

Photo credit: Dizzy Girl

A better way?

Legend has it there are parts of the United States where cyclists have access to multi-use paths and trails that are useful for transportation. I've heard fairy tales about people using MUPs to commute to work and for utility cycling. It's true that here's a .7 mile loop trail a couple of blocks from my house, but it has about as much transportational value as a basketball court.

A meeting later this week will examine the Chatham County elements of the proposed Coastal Georgia Greenway. Meeting details are here. The good news is that several of the Greenway segments could be used for more than recreation. The Truman Park Linear Trail, in particular, will be useful to Memorial Health University Medical Center employees who are commuting from areas between the hospital and Lake Mayer. Memorial personnel drive thousands of cars into the neighborhood every day. Maybe when the trail's complete, the hospital could convince a couple of them to ride their bikes.

Twelve Oaks, five bikes

In the early days of Bike Year I wrote about the experience of riding my bicycle through the parking lot at the Twelve Oaks Shopping Center and the curious stares my presence evoked from motorists. Things have changed. We rode to Publix Monday evening and arrived to find a battered old mountain bike chained to a light pole. A SCAD student on a fixed gear Schwinn showed up at the same time we did. On the way out I noticed a Cannondale hybrid locked to a handrail.

It was a veritable bicycle riot!

What's more, two bystanders saw fit to make comments referencing economic benefits of bicycling. They said things along the lines of "I bet you get a lot of miles to the gallon on that thing!" Har har.

On a less positive note, a car was parked in the bike lane on the west side of Haberhsam Street, about 100 feet north of DeRenne Avenue. While motorists frequently park in the Lincoln Street bike lane, it's rare on Habersham.

Worth the walk

I noticed this Associated Press story in the newspaper today. Maybe it was published in your daily paper, too. It describes a university study that looked at ways to motivate older Americans to walk. The answer, it seems, is to give them a destination. A snip:

The benefits of walking and being active are well-known, especially for older people, but what kind of neighborhood gets seniors going?It's not necessarily one with lots of walking trails or parks. What matters, researchers found, are the destinations such as restaurants, grocery stores and even bars that are within a half-mile of your home.

I don't yet qualify as an "older person," but my motivation to become a utility cyclist was also directly tied to destinations. The library, the supermarket, the video store, the office — having a destination gave me a purpose. It made me feel better not to be riding around aimlessly.

What if the destination is a locally-owned seafood restaurant? Is this the kind of destination that might lure older people and not-so-older people out of their houses for a stroll? Is this the kind of destination that a community should encourage, if it wants lively streets and active and healthy citizens? I'd say yes. Others say no.

For a number of years, I lived directly across the street from Mrs. Wilkes' Dining Room, surely one of the most famous and beloved of all Savannah restaurants. In Mrs. Wilkes' obituary, then-Savannah Mayor Floyd Adams was quoted: "Hopefully, her legend continues through her restaurant and family. She has brought international attention to the community and we thank her for that." Paula Deen called her a pioneer "for women in the restaurant business."

But let's imagine that Mrs. Wilkes was still living and decided to open a restaurant at 107 W. Jones St. in 2007, instead of 1947. Would she receive the enthusiastic support of local politicians? Would people call her a pioneer? I think she'd be called lots of things, but pioneer probably wouldn't be one of them.

I understand controversy over the seafood restaurant on 40th street centers on allegations that the owner agreed not to allow inside dining, but then subsequently installed tables anyway. Still, why should he have been made to agree to such a concession in the first place? What difference does it make whether customers eat inside the restaurant or order their food to go? The real question is this: Is a seafood restaurant, owned by a family that's operated a fish market in Savannah since 1946, a disruptive commercial intrusion that damages the residential character of a neighborhood? Or is it an amenity that makes a nice destination for a walk?

Photo: Stephen Berend, Savannah Morning News

Location, location, location

A Savannah Morning News story from earlier this month reported a local bike shop's move from one area of downtown Savannah to another. The Bicycle Link, owned by John Skiljan, is an absolutely vital part of the city core. It's the sole source of bikes, parts and – perhaps most importantly – service in an area that surely has higher per capital bicycle use than any other part of the city. Skiljan and his staff are an indispensable resource for Savannahians, who depend on their bikes for everyday transportation. Without the Bicycle Link, parts and service for many transportational and utility cyclists would be a long bus or taxi ride away. This is one important bike shop.

But back to the newspaper story. Reporter Chuck Mobley sites a number of factors that contributed to the Bicycle Link's departure from Broughton Street for Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. This portion of his story, caught my attention:

Broughton has become too congested, and businesses and shoppers soon will begin to seek less-congested venues.

The congestion described above actually makes Broughton Street one of my favorite places to ride a bike. Cars move pretty slowly on Broughton Street and that means I can take the lane and travel at the same speed as they do. I've talked with some cyclists who fear Broughton Street because of the traffic volume. I think they make a critical mistake in their evaluation. I'll gladly take a street full of cars traveling at 15 mph over a street with less motor vehicle traffic traveling at higher speeds. I say, bring on the congestion!

Plus, shouldn't congestion be seen a good thing, especially from a retail perspective? Couldn't a commercial district labeled as "congested" also described as "bustling," "lively" or "popular?" I would use all those words to describe Broughton Street. In doing so, however, I fail to decode the true meaning of congestion. In this context, congestion means lack of parking. Like so many other things, even the location of a bicycle shop is dictated largely by the availability of free (or undervalued) surface parking.

It should be easier for motorists to find places store their cars at the new location, but sadly Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard is decidedly less hospitable to cyclists than than the two lane Broughton Street. MLK's four lanes are populated not just with local traffic, but with vehicles, including large trucks, discharged onto the street from the Interstate. And they are often moving at high speeds. This is mentioned in the article:

408-410 MLK is also next to I-16, making it convenient for cyclists to shop there as they head in and out of the city, said Skiljan, an Effingham County resident.

I take issue with this use of the word "cyclists." When I drive my car to Star Bike Shop on Montgomery Crossroad, I'm not a cyclist. Neither is anyone who uses I -16 to reach the Bicycle Link. We are motorists, not cyclists. Motorists entering Savannah from remote sectors in the universe of sprawl to the west of Savannah may become cyclists when they park their cars, but on the way to and from the shop they are simply part of the torrent of motor vehicles that makes MLK uninviting for cyclists who are, well, cycling.

Skiljan is right, however, in his suggestion that the new store will be accessible to some cyclists:

And it also puts Skiljan close to an important segment of his business - Savannah College of Art and Design students. "The college is a big deal for us," Skiljan said, "a lot of them don't have any transportation except for their bicycles, and almost all their dorms are on the west side of town."

Students who live in SCAD's Weston, Dyson, Turner and Boundary residence halls had to cross MLK to reach the store on Broughton Street anyway, so the new location is indeed a good thing for them. Still, it seems sort of sad that the only people who are expected to turn up at a bike shop on bicycles are those who have no other choice.

The tentative utility cyclist gift guide: Fenders

When I drive, I don't wear any automobile-specific clothing. No flame retardant racing suit. No driving moccasins. And since Bike Year was conceived as an attempt to replace car trips with bike trips, I don't wear any bicycle-specific clothing either. No tights. No jersey. The clothes I wear at the office and in the supermarket are the same clothes I wore on the way there on my bike.

That's why fenders are important to me. They keep what's on the road from being on me, which is helpful since I don't make a costume change once I arrive at my destination. Unfortunately, fenders don't come standard on many bikes these days. Fortunately, almost any bike can be retrofitted with them. Plus, I think bikes look almost naked without fenders.

I've tried two varieties of after-market fenders. First I bought Planet Bike Freddy Fenders. Then I tried Zefal CAB fenders. Then I went back to the Freddy Fenders. The main advantage of the Freddy Fenders is their adjustability for different frame sizes and geometries.

Planet Bike even makes a fender for bikes that lack the eyelets for mounting fenders, called the SpeedEZ. One word of warning about these, however. When you unpack the fenders, throw away the rubber straps that are used to mount the fenders to the forks and seat stays. Use some zip ties instead. The rubber straps on my fenders began cracking after 30 days and had completely deteriorated within 60.

If you can't get with the plastic fenders, check out these beautiful things.

The tentative utlity cyclist gift guide: Where to buy

In response to my Nashbar-centric rack and pannier recommendation, Jim pointed out that you're more likely to talk to living person and maybe even the owner of the joint when you call a smaller outfit. And he's right. If I had remained on hold with Nashbar to learn the fate of the LDT rack, how much information could the operator have provided? Would he or she be able to talk knowingly about factory retooling in Guangdong Province or whatever it is that's disrupted the supply chain? Probably not.

In my defense, I aimed to provide suggestions that would get folks into utility cycling on the cheap. Nevertheless, I understand the arguments against spending money at a big national mail order house. If you are fond of your community and wish it to prosper, it makes sense to trade at a locally-owned bike shop. Your dollars will hang around instead of splitting town. Plus, this late in the holiday shopping game, it's probably easier to walk into a brick and mortar store instead of praying that the UPS delivery bicycle will pull up in front of the house with your gifts by Friday.

Unfortunately, at many local shops, bicycles are regarded as toys, exercise equipment or sporting goods — not vehicles. It's the nature of the business, I'm told. The real profit is in expensive bicycles with polonium frames, 802.11g wireless derailleurs and tires no wider than a human hair. While they must be good for something, these light, fast and expensive machines make lousy utility cycles. A dealer whose bottom line depends on moving high dollar machines isn't going to devote much floorspace to utility cycling accessories. If a customer drops $2,000 on a bicycle, better to have a boxes of $400 cycling shoes nearby rather than $20 panniers.

I'm lucky that the folks at my LBS understand that I use my bikes to haul groceries and commute to work. If you're not so lucky and can't spend your money at home, consider sending it to Minneapolis or West Newton.

The tentative utility cyclist gift guide: Rear rack and panniers

I could be wrong, but the ability to safely transport cargo is what separates the utility bicycles from, well, the bicycles. Sure, people can carry cargo in backpacks or messenger bags, but that would make them utility humans. Their bikes would remain bikes.

I see a lot of bikes around town equipped with rear racks. I don't see much carried on these racks, however, because a rear rack by itself is of limited usefulness, unless your tentative utility cyclist has a pocket full of bungee cords handy. Mating a rear rack with panniers drastically increases its capacity to haul stuff. But first things first.

There are some really amazing racks out there, but for a person just starting out in the exciting world of utility cycling, I would enthusiastically recommend the Nashbar LDT Rack. Only problem is, I just checked and it seems to have disappeared from the Nashbar Web site. Not wanting to disappoint you and the tentative utility cyclist on your shopping list, I called Nashbar to find out if LDT was gone for good. After about five minutes on hold, I gave up and that's why I hesitantly recommend the Bor Yeuh Urban Rear Rack, currently on sale for $12.99. I selected this rack because of its low price and the fact that it is fully adjustable and should fit a wide variety of aspiring utility bicycles. Also, the words Bor Yeuh sound tantalizingly exotic.

If your cyclist's bicycle does not have fittings designed for accepting the rack, here's the workaround: March into your local hardware store and ask for some insulated "P clamps." With the proper sized clamps, the rack will be secure.

Now you'll need panniers. How do you pronounce "panniers"? I have no idea, so I try not to say the word out loud. There is really beautiful bicycle luggage out there, but for a new utility cyclist, you can't go wrong with the Nashbar Townie Basket. As I type this, they are priced to move at $ 16.99 each. My townies have served me well over the last 18 months. They fold flat against the bike when not in use. The Townie does not feature a carrying strap or an internal frame, like some of the more expensive grocery bag panniers. Still the Townie has a hidden feature that's apparently too secret for Nashbar to publicly reveal: the hi-vis yellow rain hood that stuffs into a zippered compartment on the bottom of the pannier when not in use. Neat!

There is one design flaw to mention. The zippers of the rain cover pouches mentioned above are on the wheel-side of the panniers. This allows the zipper pulls to make contacts with the spokes. The pulls are not long enough to become fully involved in the spokes, but the sound is kind of annoying. Luckily, the situation is easily remedied by tucking the zipper pulls back into the pouch.

I welcome any comments from others who have used these products. Did they work for you? Do you have alternatives to recommend?

Gifts for the tentative utility cyclist

Has reading this blog inspired you to try utility cycling? I didn't think so. But humor me and pretend you've entertained the idea of using a bicycle for short errands and trips that currently put you behind the wheel.

Too far fetched?

OK. Try this: Imagine a family member, friend, coworker, or someone you saw on TV, who dreams about leaving the car in the driveway. Could this person be looking to get a little exercise without having to pay for a health club membership? Maybe he or she is troubled by the idea of financing both sides in the "War on Terror." Perhaps this person simply wants to become less car dependent. Does that make it easier? Good. I thought it might.

Next, let's imagine he or she already owns a bicycle that could be used as a utility cycle. It could be a mountain bike, a road bike or even a beach cruiser. It's your choice. Are you picturing the bike? Excellent. What color is it? Red? Mine too!

But now we have a problem. No matter what kind of bicycle you've chosen to imagine, it's probably like most bicycles sold in U. S. and A, in that it's not equipped for utility cycling. Since it has no lights, it cannot be legally ridden at night (at least not in my state). It cannot transport cargo, unless you count plastic shopping bags hung from the handlebars (I don't). In wet weather, its tires will spray the rider, fore and aft, with an undiluted coating of road grime (Good luck getting out those stains).

So how can this bike, designed for recreational rides on scenic thoroughfares, be transformed to perform practical purposes on city streets? We need a holiday miracle! This sounds like a job for Santa Claus you!

In the coming days, this blog will feature items I've used over the last 18 months in my utility cycling endeavors. You may consider them road tested and Bike Year approved. There's plenty of wonderful cycling gear out there, some of it handcrafted to last a lifetime. With this kind of equipment, utility cycling can be efficient, stylish and fun. Maybe even a little addictive.

But let's ease into this thing, shall we? Better to make sure your cyclist catches the bug before you spend bike-loads of bread on gifts that could wind up on eBay by March. If he or she is still at it by this time next year, it's probably safe to give the really nice stuff. Maybe next year I'll present "Gifts for the committed utility cyclist." But for now, we'll explore some of the more affordable, but still viable, utility cycling products. Stay tuned for tomorrow's exciting episode: "Rear Rack and Panniers."

Photo credit: MSU Bike Project

Where the 'P' stands for pedals

Via Bicycle Fixation, here's a story from "Vermont's Alternative Web Weekly" about the Burlington UPS distribution center using trailer-equipped bicycles to make deliveries in "in flatter sections of towns." There are interesting angles in this story.

First, the Bicycle Fixation gang suggests that UPS is, in a way, returning to its two-wheeled roots. And sure enough they're right. Bicycles are part of the company's genetic code. Here's information on the American Messenger Company, which later became known as the United Parcel Service, from the company's Web site:

In response to telephone calls received at their basement headquarters, messengers ran errands, delivered packages, and carried notes, baggage, and trays of food from restaurants. They made most deliveries on foot and used bicycles for longer trips.

Next (pun intended), a distribution center employee, who is described in the story as a "avid cyclist," dissuaded the bossman from purchasing bicycle-shaped objects from Wal-Mart and steered him toward some refurbished bicycles at a local shop. Bonus points for that.

But even the avid cyclist suggests some parcels just can't be dispatched by bicycle.

Not every package is suitable for delivery by bike, Lutz adds. “We’re not going to make a bike person haul around some big Pottery Barn box.”

I bet this machine could handle it.