Mr. Jalopy turns his attention to bicycles

One of my favorite non-bicycle blogs is Hoopty Rides. It's creator, Mr. Jalopy, chronicles his efforts to find and care for aging automobiles, cans of motor oil, water slide decals and other objects that catch his eye. Mr. Jalopy has a unique approach to cultivating and curating these items. While he may polish up an old set of Craftsman wrenches from time to time, he is at ease with the rust, dents and other signs of age that show up on things bought at yard sales or at flea markets. Here's how he described a 1954 Chevrolet he was offering for sale back in 2004:

"The paint is thin and the rust is everywhere. It is extraordinary looking in the way a giant boulder is magnificent, or perhaps, a charging buffalo. There are colors on this car that exist only in nature. Indescribable deep rich hues that are impossible to categorize but are immediately familiar. A very nice, tattered, very beat up, wonderfully patina'd car of great integrity for $2250."

I've adopted Mr. Jalopy's philosophy and applied it to my attempts to rehabilitate old bicycles. Plus, since I lack the skill or patience to restore bicycles to their original condition, embracing imperfection saves me lots of frustration.

But that's not why I'm writing about Mr. Jalopy on Bike Year. I mention him here because of his new project, Coco's Variety Store.

Presuming that it actually exists, I would nominate it for one of the greatest retail concepts introduced so far this century. But here's the really cool thing: As you can see from the photo above, used bicycles are one of Coco's main product lines. And here's how Mr. Jalopy describes this portion of the store's inventory:

"Coco's is engaged in the refurbishment, repair and sale of used bicycles. From the scrap iron dealer's mud puddle, we buy bikes that nobody else wants. We buy junkers, clunkers, road bikes, mountain bikes, banana seat specials, fixies, department store cheapies, step through ten speeds, heavy bikes, skip tooth relics, 80's splatter paint disasters, suspension bikes, BMX tricksters, track bikes, cruisers, bruisers and midnight losers."

But why bicycles?

"We believe the bicycle with the greatest positive impact on the environment is a fading champion that has already served a meaningful life and is resuscitated for a second chance at glory."

And I would nominate it for one of the greatest sentences written about bicycles so far this century.

Cycling in the parking lane

Motorists parking in bike lanes is not a Savannah-specific occurrence. In fact, I've learned that in New York City public officials are assigned special placards that allow them not to park not just in bicycle lanes, but on grave sites, in the living rooms of private residences and on top of pedestrians.

It's really not such a big deal to move a couple feet into the lane to avoid a stationary car. Still, I become a little angry when, on my way to work, I encounter motor vehicles parked in Lincoln Street the bicycle lane. My trouble is I can't ignore the fact that this is the only pavement marked lane in all of downtown Savannah. There are plenty of places to park, but only one bike lane.

As I passed the white Chevy Tahoe parked in the bike lane just south of Anderson Street this morning, I turned to face the woman at the wheel. She seemed to be quite happy sitting in her car listening to music. We made eye contact. I pointed to the "bike lane" and "towing enforced" signs located about 10 feet away from her windshield. Then I pointed at the pavement. Then at my bike.

Then she looked at me like I had lost my mind.

Hers was absolutely the correct response. After all, if it wasn't OK to park in the bike lane, the police officer driving the marked patrol car, which rolled past her about a minute before I did, probably would have stopped and said something. It's clear I'm the one who needs to get with the program.

I used to call the police non-emergency number to report cars parked in the bike lane. Sometimes I heard a sympathetic voice on the other end of the line. Too many times, though, I was met with a different response: "A bicycle is parked in the what now?" Even when I repeated that a car was parked in the bike lane, I'm was treated as if I called to report a squirrel in the tree outside my front door. The dispatcher understood what I was saying, but there was no corresponding recognition that a car parked in a bike lane was a problem.

Lest anyone think I'm bashing the cops, I'm not. It's just that enforcing parking regulations just doesn't seem to be in the job description. In the National Historic Landmark District, creative parking techniques will eventually attract the attention of Parking Services. But outside of the historic district, I'm convinced cars can remain unlawfully parked indefinitely.

For instance, within a three block stretch of East 49th Street I saw four cars parked on or otherwise blocking sidewalks on a recent evening. This does not include the cars parked on the tennis courts at Savannah Arts Academy (Why does this parking lot have nets on it?) or the motor scooter that had been stored on the sidewalk near the intersection with East Atlantic Street for weeks.

Another example: On the northeast corner of Anderson and Habersham streets, the crosswalk is connected to the sidewalk via a slightly sloped ramp covered in textured brick. What's the purpose of this? Could it be to allow a person in a wheel chair to transition between the crosswalk and the sidewalk? Perhaps it makes it easy on older folks who have a hard time making it over the curb?

Wrong.

This feature marks the spot often occupied by the right front tire of the illegally parked Roberts Furniture delivery truck. I guess it's handy for the driver. When he feels the tire drop into that depression, he can be certain that the cab of the truck has completely blocked the crosswalk. There's no guesswork involved!

The City of Savannah has recently mounted and vigorous and well publicized anti-blight campaign. According to recent news coverage, inspectors are especially interested in old jalopies languishing in residents' front yards. Here's a snip from a recent Savannah Morning News story:

"People should know by now that parking a car on the front lawn is against city law, the inspectors said."

Luckily for these people, parking a car in a bike lane or on the sidewalk or even on a public school tennis court is permitted.

Savannah Bicycle Campaign launches Web site

As I write this, the newly organized Savannah Bicycle Campaign is holding its second meeting. I'm sorry I can't be there. Here's what the SBC hopes to achieve:

Our objectives are to work through the political process to develop more and better bicycle facilities for Savannah—improved bike lanes, racks, and signage—and to develop a public campaign to educate bicyclists and drivers about safe practices on and off the roadways. Ultimately, we hope to foster an inclusive approach to make our communities more livable, connected, and safe.

The Savannah Bicycle Campaign welcomes members from all sectors of the cycling community. Recreational, transportational and competitive cyclists are all invited to get involved. If you ride for environmental, economic or health reasons — or just for the fun of it — the door's open. Find out how to get involved here.

On Commuting

I wrote another story for the faculty/staff newspaper at the Savannah College of Art and Design. This time the topic was how to get started in the exciting world of bicycle commuting. Want to read it? Click here.

Who speaks for the bikes?

Gather a group of Savannah bicyclists in a room and they will invariably begin to share accounts of near misses involving inattentive or aggressive motorists. They'll compare notes on which portions of the Lincoln Street bike lane are most often blocked by parked cars. It happens every time cyclists come together, just as it did in a meeting I attended today.

Of course, there are some communities in which cyclists have it tougher than we do. And there are others in which cyclists can feel confident that the city's highest elected official has their backs. I suppose Savannah is somewhere in the middle. Or maybe it's more accurate to say we are in limbo. It could be worse, but it could be much better.

Is it time for a bicycle advocacy group to organize and lobby for infrastructure improvements, law enforcement initiatives and educational campaigns that will make Savannah's streets safer for transportational cyclists? What form would such a group take? What would be it's mission? How could it cooperate with our cousins in the realm of recreational cycling? Is there common ground to be found with those working to improve public transportation and pedestrian facilities? What would the group be called? How often would it meet? Would there be food at the meetings?

Please share your ideas in the comments section.

(This item was cross posted on Sustainable Savannah)

On Safety

Last week I wrote a story about bicycle safety for the faculty/staff newspaper at the Savannah College of Art and Design. David Crites of Georgia Bikes! provided excellent information on short notice. I'm very grateful for his help. Want to read it? Click here.

Cog Bicycle Cooperative is open for business

Cog, formerly known as The Savannah Bike Co-op, opened for business yesterday. Mary Landers interviewed Paul McLaughlin, the co-op's president, for her story "Fix a bike, or build one, at new co-op called Cog" in the Savannah Morning News. Here's a snip:

"The co-op is for everyone, regardless of gender, age or income, said the easy-going, red-bearded McLaughlin. "We'll never refuse service to anyone unless they're being belligerent or something," he said. Local bike shops have been friendly, and McLaughlin said his co-op won't be competition for them. Instead, it could send them new customers by promoting cycling."


I delivered a second batch of parts to Cog (I can move around again in the bike shed!) around 1 p.m. and found plenty of customers and volunteers on hand, despite the inclement weather.

McLaughlin's group is still looking for someone to help the co-op secure non-profit status. If that person is you, e-mail the co-op at savannahbikecoop@gmail.com.

Cyclist seriously injured on Lincoln Street, hit and run driver sought by police

I'm not sure how many people still monitor this blog. I've devoted most of my attention recently to Sustainable Savannah, leaving Bike Year untended. I'm considering reviving bike year, but in the meantime, I thought the following information was critical to post here, as I've frequently written about the Lincoln Street bike lane.

If you regularly operate a bicycle in Savannah, your friends and relatives will worry about you. Yesterday I was on the Southside when my cell phone vibrated. The caller said she saw police cars on Lincoln Street and a cyclist on the ground. She wanted to make sure it wasn't me.

This morning I was alerted to the alarming details (Thanks, Clint).

Savannah-Chatham Police are searching for the driver of a car that ran over and seriously injured a bicyclist Thursday morning. The crash occurred shortly after 10 a.m. at the intersection of Wayne and Lincoln streets.

The complete story is here.

I'm glad the police are taking this seriously. In a city in which residents seem perpetually obsessed with violent crime, it's important to remember the motor vehicles can be weapons. Or, as Lt. Scott Simpkins, commander of the Savannah Chatham Metropolitan Police department's traffic division, said in a Jan. 4 Savannah Morning News story:

"Killing someone with your car is somehow more acceptable than shooting them," Simpkins said. "This should not be the case."

Police are asking for help finding the driver, a white female in her 20s, who sped away in a white passenger car after hitting the cyclist. Anyone for more information should call 652-6650 or call CrimeStoppers at 234-2020.

I thought I'd seen everything

I see all sorts of things in the Lincoln street bike lane: wrong-way cyclists, pedestrians, abandoned grocery carts and all manner of parked vehicles. Now I have a new one to add to my collection. Just north of 38th Street, I saw a man washing his car. In the bike lane.

Bike rack humor

Like a lot of dorks, I use a velcro strap to keep my trouser leg from becoming involved with my bicycle's drive train. Yesterday evening I had just wrapped the strap around my right ankle, when a guy on the sidewalk stopped and asked, "How long you been on probation?"

Classic!

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.

I have nothing to BRAG about

I suppose it's an indicator of my relationship to the mainstream cycling culture in my state: I had no idea the celebrated Bicycle Ride Across Georgia concluded in Savannah this year. I was headed to the south side in search of double chain ring bolts when I noticed clusters of bicyclists riding north on Habersham Street. At first I presumed it was a Coastal Bicycle Touring Club group ride, but they just kept on coming. All sorts of bikes, too, including plenty of tandems and recumbents. The ride ended in Daffin Park, just three blocks from my home, I found out when I watched the news last night. I'm embarrassed that I was so out of the loop on this. I'm also curious about what the BRAGers thought of our bicycle infrastructure here in Savannah.

I finally found my chain ring bolts at Quality Bike Shop. The guy who sold them to me asked if I was with BRAG. He said chain ring bolts were the type of thing BRAGers needed for roadside repairs. During my visit to QBS, I inspected an Electra Amsterdam Classic 3. It's one of the most handsome bicycles I've ever seen.

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.

Lucky 13

When I moved to Savannah in 1993, I contracted a serious case of yard sale fever. Episodes have become less frequent since I moved back to Savannah from Atlanta in 2000. Still, every now and then I get the urge to prowl around on Saturday mornings. In the past I was generally on the lookout for old transistor radios and cameras, LP records, tiki mugs, and Mid-century Modern furniture and lighting. I still keep my eyes peeled for these items, but they are now sadly uncommon.

When I make the scene these days, I'm looking for bicycles. And bicycle parts. Usually I find nothing but children's bicycles in various states of decay. No sale. But sometimes I get lucky. A resprayed Specialized road bike from a yard sale donated the cranks and chain ring I'm using on my main ride. I gave the frame (it was too tall for me) to a college student who used it for a fixed-gear conversion.

Yesterday on Craigslist, I read about a sale that promised bike parts in large quantities due to its location: the Savannah Pedicab garage. I was not disappointed. My haul consisted of:

• Two sets of handlebars
  
• One Sugino XD 175mm crankset (with chain ring bolts)
• Two new Wald chainguards (with hardware)
• Two new brake cables

All together these items came to $13. I think I got a pretty good bargain.

What I've been doing lately

The decline in posting recently has been partially attributable to my thinking about and then actually acting on an idea for a new blog. It has a wider focus than Bike Year, so I expect I'll continue my action-packed utility cycling narrative here. Perhaps there will be a little cross-posting. We'll see.

What we learned in college (and how to use it in the real world)

What makes folks loyal to their alma maters? Great football teams? Excellent academic programs? Availability of high quality fake IDs?

What about the absence of cars?

A friend sent me a link to a blog post (thanks, Andrea!) called "Great streets, campuses, and pedestrian nostalgia." Andrea described it as "great" and "funny." I agree 100 percent and encourage everyone to read it in it's entirety.

Here's a snip:

...something I think about more and more lately is the possibility that Americans get as nostalgic as they do about college – identifying themselves as graduates of certain universities to a degree, and with a passion, that I genuinely think is alien to most cultures – whatever that means – not simply because college represents the only four years in which they might have pursued their real interests, but because, in the United States, college is a totally different lifestyle. You walk everywhere.

But what happens when these students leave campus?

So you graduate with your law degree and you move to Ft. Worth and you hang Michigan banners all over your office walls – but that nostalgic loyalty is not simply because you miss playing beer pong, it's because you miss being able to walk around everywhere. It's a particularly intense form of pedestrian nostalgia. In any case, college is like discovering a different world, tucked away inside the United States – and it's a world that's been built for human beings.

Jim Kunstler makes a related point in one of his books (I forget which one) about a similar effect associated with Walt Disney World's Main Street USA. I found the following quote here.

There's a whole other class of Americans who will drive 2500 miles from their small town in Minnesota to go to Walt Disney’s Main Street and walk down Main Street there, you know, unmolested by cars, because they really don’t let them in except for the few antique props that they keep around. And they’ll walk around and they’ll say "Gosh, doesn’t it feel good to be on a nice walkable street in a mixed use, in a simulated mixed-use neighborhood." And then they’ll go back home to their small town and they’ll turn main street into a six-lane expressway, and they’ll cut down all the street trees on Elm Street in order to remove these "hazards to motoring," as they’re regarded by Departments of Transportation, and they’ll do everything possible they can to destroy the great relationships between the things in their older town. And then, another year will go by, and they’ll go back to Disney World to feel good about America. So it’s a pretty kind of pitiful situation.

If college and Disney are so successful in imprinting such fond feelings of independence from cars, what can be done to motivate people to act on them after graduation — to demand walkable and bikeable streets where they don't exist in the "real world" and fight to protect these environments where they do? Perhaps these sleeper agents are simply waiting to be activated. Maybe they need to hear a Robert Frost poem or something and they'll automatically embark on their suicide missions start going to metropolitan planning organization meetings.