Wrap It Up!

Wicker bike! I want a wicker bike! When this gentleman pulled up next to me ( I think his name was Eric, but if not, and you know him, let me know and I will correct it) I was instantly covetous of his fine ride.

I was completely enthralled by just how thoroughly wickered his bicycle was. Everything was meticulously wrapped. Even the rack, which he said was his favorite part.

Look at how perfectly it is wrapped!

I particularly liked the seat. It can't be easy to get all of the contours right. I didn't think to ask him if it was comfortable.

Val thinks they may come from Viet Nam. I'll buy that. I wonder if David Hembrow would make one of these with an Old Dutch? Either way, I have declared this to be the Bike to Work Day bike of 2010!

Just think, if it breaks down you could turn it into a rocking chair!

On The Road Again

S.A.M. is back on the road. He does not look that much different, but he is!

I was going to do the work, but it ended up with Hubby the Bike Man doing just about everything (we have a different work style involved primarily with me liking to have a cup of tea at 10:30 PM and James liking to go work in the garage until midnight).

S.A.M. has a new bottom bracket (sealed), new pedals (MKS), new chain rings (Hubby knew I needed different gearing although I was oblivious), new wheel bearings and a repacked head tube.

All of the recycled parts required overnight soaking in orange oil prior to being scraped clean. That is some serious, long standing, baked on grime. It was worth it, though. James was able to salvage the derailleurs.

The paint is still shot. The paint that is left is strong and a really pretty soft metallic blue, but so much has been scraped off. I was worried the new V.O. fenders and the Axiom rack would really make the paint look baaaaad.

I was pleasantly surprised to find the new shiny bits do not make the paint look worse. S.A.M. has an air of shabby chic now that was not there before. The addition of the Peterboro baskets to the back end are perfect.

Today, I got to take him for a nice, quiet ride to the Farmer's Market. It has become obvious that the freewheel needs to be replaced, but other than that, everything rides so much better! Nothing grinds anymore. Everything is quiet and smooth. The fact that it is well tuned and 25 lbs lighter than the Bat, 65 lbs lighter if you factor in the weight of Declan, means that I don't end up as tired at the end of the ride. It makes me happy.

It is not easy to put an old bike back together. There is a lot of trial and error involved. I am lucky to have a husband who enjoys building bicycles (I hate to think how much it would have cost to have a professional do it). If you have the interest in this kind of thing, you should do it. Having a bicycle with history and character is wonderful. Being able to make it exactly what you want it to be makes riding so much better.

Go fix a bike! You will like it!

Growth Industry

San Francisco has growing numbers of cyclists. The latest numbers for 2009 are wonderful, especially when you take into account that until the last couple of months, there has been zero increase or improvement of bicycle infrastructure in San Francisco in years. We are still under a partial injunction that allows us to only complete projects that the court has deemed "potentially reversible".

While some intersections where cyclists were counted showed very small gains, and in some instances drops in usage, several spots in SF showed triple digit increases (!!!!)- Great Highway and Sloat 110%, 23rd & Potrero st. 111%, 7th. & 16th St. 202%, Alemany & Geneva-222%, Embarcadero at the Ferry Building 104%, Stockton and Sutter 205% and Randall & San Jose (my personal nemesis and daily spot) 150%.

San Francisco has a 53.5% increase in the number of bicycles counted in San Francisco since 2006 when the count started. We have not been (insert city here)-ized in any way. We have been blocked by the courts to make anything better for ourselves. We have had to carve our space out with nothing but our bicycles for help. We have taken to the streets with our fixies, our cargo bikes, our Wal-Mart bike shaped objects, our child trailers, our tricycles and proven that all it takes to start the change is to get out and ride.

So we have said it before, and we will say it a million more times- get out and ride, people! It makes a difference. Every ride, every time. Make sure you have some fun along the way.

tu y yo...are looking for the bicis!

so to pick up where we left off the last time: the super cutie pie duo of pilar and dorothy were looking for a bike for pilar in LA.

the last time dorothy discussed types of bikes that are available from beach cruisers to bmxes to 10 speeds to mixtes mountain bikes. pilar decided she wanted to look for a hybrid bici.

so for this time, as they look for bikes, they come across a JAMIS. and i love how they discuss the finer points of language. as in how do you pronounce jamis? pilar, being a (self-described) chilean valley girl, says it would be "HAH-mees," whereas dorothy mentions that if you're in "america" you say "JAY-miss." please, see for yourself.



um, how cute is pilar riding around on those lil comfort bicis? :-D

anywaysssss...

part three has them narrowing things down to pilar's dream first bici at the "walmart of bike shops."



so what bike did pilar choose? i dunno! i don't know if i can find the last episode. sad face.

regardless i wanted to share these videos for a few reasons. one being that these were southern california women of color (for lack of a better term at the moment, but we're working on a better one...stay tuned) interested in looking for bikes and helping others by modeling how to buy a bike if one does not now how/where to start.

chances are if you are reading this blog, most likely you have a bike or know where to start when looking for one. but, sharing the beginning steps i always feel is important in that maybe now that the weather is starting to mellow out, the days are getting longer that maybe you all can grab a friend, someone you never thought would hop on a bike and get them started. maybe they are shy, maybe they are scared, maybe they don't have any money. whatever the case may be, there is always an option by just sharing and starting the conversation.

and to close, i'm going back to dorothy's own words back in the first video i shared with you all:

i don't have a car ... and i definitely want to show it, not just say it. i'm looking forward to hosting more rides so that not only can people learn how to ride, but also learn about their city. it's nice to hear that people are open to something like a bicycle in los angeles. maybe 5 years ago that would have been really crazy.

i don't know about y'all (yah, ahm from texas ok?), but i think those words nicely encapsulate what we are about on this here blog. don't you?

what about y'all? are you doing what you can to get someone you know involved in riding around?

Renovations

As anyone who has read this blog knows, I ride a Batavus. I love my Bat.

At some point, someone named him the "Batcycle Gentleman" and it stuck. He is, indeed, a gentleman (most of the time) and there has not been a single day since I purchased him that I have not been happy to have done so.

Despite our obvious comfort in just kicking back together, later this month, the Bat will be on loan to an out of town visitor. I would not loan my bike to just anyone, but I know that this person is one of the few that I would and that he will be in good hands.

In preparation for this event, I am finally stripping down S.A.M. and doing all of the repair work that has needed to be done since I bought him.

S.A.M., so named because someone carved "#107" into his paint in several places (his secret agent number I suspect), is completely rideable as is, but there was so much left to do after the initial fix we did when I first bought him. This bike was a mess! Nothing , absolutely nothing, worked on the bike. He was filthy, rickety and totally not road worthy. I bought him for the frame as it is the largest mixte frame Raleigh ever made and that was what I needed. Until I knew I would ride the bike regularly, I didn't want to put in the time for a complete tear down and reassembly. Now, I will be riding it, with kid in tow, as my primary bike and thus, work is required.

Stay tuned. I have new V.O. fenders and a wonderful new rack to install. The bottom bracket is going, the head tube is being repacked (it has loose ball bearings in it which is something I have not dealt with before), I am taking apart the derailleurs to completely de-grime them, the wheel bearings will be re-packed... a spa treatment deluxe!

So, at least for a little while, my mixte will take center stage, and not just be the bike that waits in sketchy neighborhoods for me to be finished drinking Belgian beer : )

Bikes On Credit

Alright. I hate these ads. They get stuck in my head and make me grumpy. However, this one at least does not show us in a terrible light. When he gets denied credit, it is at the bike shop, not the car lot. This means that those of us on bicycles here in the USA are finally making an impact. It may not be the best ad, but we are not portrayed as idiots or freaks and we are encouraged to keep riding. I'll take it!

Food For Friday Thought

A homework assignment for you all this weekend! I want you to each imagine what your part of the world would look like if more people used bicycles for transportation. After you get that picture in your head, try to think of one thing you can do to make it happen. Next, share it with us here! We need to start giving each other ideas on how to create the world we want.

In the mean time, here are some pictures from our Flickr group to start you down the path of inspiration.

image by Iam Amsterdam in Amsterdam

image by Xander 'n Dante in Toronto



image by Bart Omeu, in Barcelona



image by Bikes By The Sea, Southern California

image by Baudman in Melbourne



image by Ibikenz, from somewhere in New Zealand

What Did You Do This Weekend?

Quiet family weekends are always a good thing!

Time with friends is a great way to enjoy the afternoon and a little people watching.

Riding around on your own can be peaceful, even when everything around you is go-go-go.

Just remember that your four legged friends need some quality time with you, too.

What did your weekend look like? I bet it was better on a bike : )

Lee 2G

Another contribution from one of you out there in the world! It's like getting an early Christmas present. Or a late Hanukkah gift, your choice : ) Lee is one of the folks out there in the San Francisco Bay Area that rides all the way from SF to Cupertino (38 miles, one way!) at least once a week. I love how this group has turned a bicycle commute into a way to socialize and encourage one another! Would you commute by bicycle more if you had people to ride with?

"I met the SF2G gang at last year's Bike-to-Work Day, where they
traditionally assemble large rides out of San Francisco down to
various workplaces along the peninsula. Although I was a little
anxious, I found them to be friendly, encouraging, and enthusiastic
cyclists, some of them advanced, and some the everyday-type, spinning
along like the rest of us. I learned that these rides occur just about
every working day. Some of the rides may be faster paced than others.
But, the group usually hosts a pleasantly paced, super-social ride at
least one Friday a month. After my bike-to-work experience, I started
participating in their morning bike commute rides more often. And,
after learning the routes, going on them myself or often, with other
friends.

There are a number of reasons why I bike the 40-plus miles to work on
some mornings. Some reasons are easy to understand, like the feeling
you get from the fresh air and the exertion, having your workday start
with you in a good mood, getting to see the Bay Area in a way you
wouldn't normally, and so on. But overall, I think for me it's simply
just about the adventure and the spirit of camaraderie that that
adventure can bring out in you and the people riding next to you."

One Block At A Time

San Francisco just got its first separated bike lane. It is on Market Street. It is one block long. When first I heard of it, I was terribly unimpressed. A single block. Meh. Then I saw that it was put on one of the stretches that bothers the crap out of me every time I ride on it- it is a stretch that always has mail vans and UPS trucks double parked in it! Hah! Double park on that!

So while I want more, at least we get this for now!

All In The Family

When asked what I think would get people out on bicycles I always say you have to get the Moms. If you want urban bicycling to catch hold and really make a difference in how we all live you have to get the moms on bicycles, preferably with their kids. But really, the idea extends to families, period. If you get families to ride the rest will fall into place.

image by Amsterdamize

To do that we will all have to demand safe space for our kids to ride.

If parents feel that their children are safe then they will put them on two wheels to get where they are going.

image by Bike Pilot

When kids can travel under their own power, everyone benefits.

If it is safe enough for our families then it is safe enough for everyone and then everyone has the opportunity to ride.

The time has come for all of us to create the world we want to live in. Find a way to get involved in your city. It isn't always easy but it is always worth it!

New POV, Old Critical Mass

Back in October, when Mikael was here, we all got together and rode the Halloween Critical Mass. It was a huge event with thousands of people. Like every CM ride some were happy, some were furious and some were dressed like Hello Kitty. This is the short film that Mikael shot about it and posted over at Copenhagenize and which I have pirated over here : ) I love seeing my city from someone else's eyes! Click here to see the ride the next day (the footage of the clown on the berm is not a costume party but a Halloween wedding!).

Copenhagenize Rides San Francisco Critical Mass from Copenhagenize on Vimeo.

Black & White

Growing up I was told so many times that nothing is black & white. Perhaps that is true, but sometimes, when you strip out the colour you have a better chance of seeing what is truly important.

Depeche Mode

Fast fashion. That is what is starting to happen in more and more places- bikes on trains. The fashionable use their bikes to get to the train to get across the Bay. We need more fashions like this. The kind that stick and make everything better.



Do you have a multimodal commute? What is it like?