an informal count

who says that women ride less than men? ok, a lot of people do, but this is what i gathered as i was scoping out items for scenes from the bikey lane from this morning's commute. the following numbers were counted at stops at certain intersections along my route. meaning there was enough time for us to stop and for me to count before moving along with traffic. this occurred just before 9am this first monday morning of 2010.

1. page & octavia: 3 women; 1 man

2. van ness & market: 3 women; 1 man

3. 7th & market: 4 women; 2 men

4. 5th & market: 4 women; 3 men

5. 4th & market: 3 women; 3 men.

this sort of interested me as i started really counting the numbers. i think i may keep this up and see how my very informal take on gathering data & numbers goes.

do you see a significant amount of either gender on your workday commutes? are you noticing any changes?

scenes from the bikey lane: is it friday happy hour yet...edition

1.) a sleepy hollow type fog kissing the streets of san francisco.

2.) plenty of red cheeked commuters blowing cotton puff balls out of their mouths.

3.) my fingers…FREEZING. Why did I forget to put on my gloves when I left my apartment? Either way, it was remedied at the intersection of highway and my way. Pronto.

4.) no ichabod crane, but another commuter on a trusty steed singing country tunes. Loudly.

5.) not less than a minute later, dixie chicks blaring from someone's car windows.

6.) a passive aggressive blue prius trying to block bikes at the interection at 8th and market where cars must turn right. i think i heard a bike run into him while it was trying to pass him on the left.

7.) one of my bike basket's florecitas flying into the street. i littered. i feel bad that i could not stop to pick it back up, but it was lost in a mound of traffic behind me. my flower or my ass. you decide.

8.) leather gloves on the ground. i wish i had gotten a pic of it for ade's sake. and why?! it pretty chilly up in these parts right now. perhaps they are being reused as we speak.

9.) as I was parking my bike in its usual spot, I noticed someone taking a picture of me with his cell phone from inside the coffee shop. Real subtle buddy. I was parking next to his bike perhaps? last time i checked bike racks were two bikes per one rack ratio. OR maybe he likeded my bici's flowers? either way...so yah, I saw you. Oh hai.

Happy (hour) Friday everyone!

scenes from the bikey lane: back to the grind edition

(unfortuntately, the above does not refer to coffee grindings and such)

i hope everyone had a great 4 day weekend. mine was full of cat visiting (oh hai, i'm in urz haus), christmas tree getting and decorating, veggie leftovers, beer, coffee, and a couple of bike rides. i didn't go on the longer one i had intended...but such is life ;)

1.) lots more traffic on page. grrr. i missed it when all those cars were elsewhere.

2.) hitting the lights, for the most part. niiiice. yet i was still 6 minutes late. oops.

3.) my gears sticking & me nearly falling over at the green in front of a car and behind the bus. luckily for me, the car driver was patient and followed behind us (me and the other commuters) slowly for a couple of blocks.

4.) a bike light totally destroyed at the interestction of 5th and market. doh! i hope it wasn't due to a hit...just a bump w/ a bike light fall.

5.) me riding to jury duty at lunch. :) i serve my civic duties as needed. now if only there was better bike parking available...i must investigate civic center garage if i get called back tomorrow.

happy monday everyone!

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?

scenes from the bikey lane: tuesday is the new monday edition

-1.) the time!! i was running, oh, about 15 minutes late. grr. and i had woken up early too. :)

1.) a cop pulling up across the intersection. i make sure to make a complete stop, leaving nothing to interpretation, because i've seen cops pulling over cyclists in the a.m. rush hour traffic.

2.) a cyclist running through a stop sign and taking a left right in front of cop mentioned in #1. cop and cyclist have words. dirty looks were exchanged. everyone kept going on their merry little morning way.

3.) my favorite little traffic cop. no, that is not an oxymoron. she is responsible for directing traffic to turn from market street onto 8th street. she tends to do this in a way that is favorable to those who commute on two wheels. thank you!

4.) the traffic cop i almost hit yesterday while trying to avoid a pothole. oh heeeeey osssifer. sup? sorry about that!

5.) a silver fox of the architect-looking variety with a sense of humor. you know, he had the spikey silver hair, cool looking plastic glasses, rather large head. i do know of a bikey friendly architecture firm in the direction he was heading. it's not so far fetched a thought...

6.) said silver fox and i exchanged a smile after seeing two, um, junkies yelling at each other about how foiiiine each other is & how good it was to see them. sunny mornings are great for everyone.

7.) the time. i was only 5 minutes late. how did that happen? time slows down, in the best way possible, when you are in the saddle. even if it's just for a short commute.

happy tuesday everyone.