friday fun times: planning bike rides

really. after work, this bike advocacy thing takes up most of my time. whether it's here, or being involved neck deep in planning mass bike rides, or valet parking your bike so you can have a good time at an event, i can't help it. i love it.

part of why i do is to meet all different sorts of people who are all into the bike, the rides, the community, or just the solo road thing. but we all share at least one thing in common: the bike. oh, and probably not getting hit while riding one. as long as the last clause is always a danger, those of us who ride will always have a strong bond.

so the latest bike ride planning meeting i went to was amazing. the cusp of something phenominal: clitoral mass in oakland. sounds like the ride is national, and in no small part the idea is owed to those fierce latinas down south, las ovarian psychos.

the real beauty is we're planning this ride BY and FOR a non-male audience, as the name of the ride suggests. females, gender nonconforming, and trans folks all welcome. we have social media savvy, bike ride planning experience, website artists, and more importantly, the desire to put all this fierceness out in the world.

so two of my fellow bike party planners and i have to thank bart for their awesome "trial" where this week, all week, they have been allowing bikes on at all times. phew.



we introduced ourselves and sat back and then we all helped planned. a lot. then we took this picture.

foto credit to kanchan over on fb.

so what's next? ...just wait and see. ride coming up soon! save the date for MAY 25 for oakland's version of clitoral mass.

sights and sounds from the south

birmingham, alabama

i went to birmingham, alabama recently and one of the first things i saw was a large billboard showcasing some bicycle marketing we've talked about here on the blog before. this time was advertising a bank.



they equated bicycles with efficiency. heh. i can dig it. also glad to see that bike marketing is permeating a city infrastructure which basically supports no bicycles. i'm not trying to be sarcastic either. maybe the marketing will seep through and begin to have some sort of influence on the city, or not, but gotta remain hopeful that change is coming. all over the US.

austin, texas

i also went to my hometown of austin, texas. bikes are everywhere there, and i can't help smiling when i see bikes all over the streets.

i went to austin city limits music festival again, and as i mentioned previously, they recommended pedal power to get to the festival. we definitely took advantage of their bike parking. and also got to see some great bikes.

the little blue cannondale is mine. got it as a christmas present last year. if anyone knows about this era of cannondales, please share! says it's made in the usa.









i miss texas, and can't wait to get back for a non-working vacation sometime in the near future. had a great time, but it's time to head back to san francisco.

friday fun times: shower cap edition

need i say more? checkered side mirror, patterned shower cap.

a reader of ours, el tejano, posted some more pics of golden gate park's parking woes. here are a few. go over to his flickr to check out the rest!

these pictures might illustrate a little more of what is confusing some people in my description in this post. sorry! is not the easiest to explain, which is probably why there is confusion surrounding it in the first place. i plan on going to the park at some point this weekend and see if i can get more pics of the confusion. but also more pics of empty spaces so you can see what it is supposed to look like.

have a great weekend!

thursday thoughts...

i don't know about y'all, but this week has been super chock full of bikey things. so much so, that during my day job, i've been a whole day off. so in my mind today is friday, but it's really thursday. gaaaaaaaaawd.

so what did i do? i went scouting for a route for the upcoming sfbp. upon our deciding to scrap the route and plan a ride with no bike map and with our phones running out of batteries, we knew we had a long night ahead of us. when i went to unlock joanie to go on a ride to the other side of the city, this is what i stumbled upon...a flower at dusk.

then on wednesday night, i worked with another bike party volunteer, except at our part time 2nd job. we parked bikes, valet style, at a rather picturesque location...

i got to test out the hdr on my phone camera.

i've come home utterly exhausted both nights. whee! all of for the love baby...

what bikey things did you do after work this week?

It's All Covered

In other parts of the world that aren't San Francisco (what? There are other places?) it is not unusual to come out to find someone has left you a little present. Seat covers as leaflets area common objects.

photo by Lüca Pradella

This is a phenomenon that is beginning to be seen here in San Francisco.

After seeing a few of these in the Mission the other morning, I was surprised to see them all over the waterfront. Any bicycle that was stationary when the crew came through was given the treatment.

The red, nylon covers were produced and distributed by Timbuk2, a San Francisco based messenger bag company (they make lots of things, but the they started with, and are best known for their messenger bags). The bearer of the seat cover was entitled to a 20% discount on the purchase of a new bag.

It was funny to see so many bikes with red seats. Advertising that provides a service is pretty cool. So many people I meet wish they had seat covers, and now, many of them do!

i've got a case of the baskets

i love my basket. most people i know who have them do as well. here's some i've seen over town the past couple of months.

milk crates TOTES count as baskets. this one was on her way to work.

friday night lights

owner of this basket really likes the theater enough to leave bike outside while watching an awesome play unfold inside. (it seriously was one of the best plays i've seen, if it comes your way, please go and catch a performance.)

these baskets work 9 to 5. tryin' hard to make a livin'

these two little things somehow found each other

and finally, sometimes basket owners are drawn to each other and produce smiles while sharing the bike cozy love

aww. how happy has your basket made you today?

Park It In The Street!

The other day I posted this picture of the new Metrofiets parked in an on street parking spot.

.

I was surprised by the number of people who expressed fear (both here and on my Flickr account) about being harassed by either drivers or police.

So here I am challenging the status quo, again. I could have insisted on parking both of these sizable machines on the crowded, narrow sidewalk thus making it impassable for man or beast. There were already a dozen bikes littered around the store entrance, not to mention parked dogs and sun worshiping coffee addicts. But why? There is a perfectly good, open and available spot right there in front of my destination. While drinking my coffee I watched several people pull up with bicycles (with kickstands) who chose to leave due to the lack of sidewalk parking instead of utilizing this lovely large spot. It's even a free parking day (Sunday)!

If this guy can sunbathe in my space,

then I can park my bike in the street (it is as long as a Smart car!). Sometime this week I will post the law that says I can, tonight I am too lazy.

Hope For The Future

You know there will be a future for bicycling when you see children's bicycles lying about, waiting for their owners return. I saw a little piece of that hope on my way home the other night.

Two kids bikes locked up to a parking meter with Mom's (?) mixte waiting for the morning to come. Two tiny bicycles being kept outside so they can be used the next day to get somewhere.

It isn't just me seeing this, either. Fellow bicycle lover, Ian, sent me this lovely sight in my email.


A child's bike locked up outside a local school long after the school day was done.

Bicycles. They are not just for playtime anymore!

adventures in bike parking, II

seen in a SF garage in the financial district. what i like about this is not the free bike you could get in like 10 seconds, but rather is the fact that bike is super disheveled. i see plenty of mountain bikes parking in those bike rack slots (aka sorry-ass excuse for bike rack parking, but i guess we at least get this...), but never one like this. even if you moved a bike to get it out of the way to unlock your own bike, something i have done before, you would think you should move it back to how you found it. or maybe the owner left it like this in a rush to get to work. both theoretical situations exposed the underbelly of vulnerability of this bike's parking job.

in any case, i was rather fascinated by this bike for some reason. keep them bikes locked up well, mkay?

how to be nice to someone in two simple steps

one two...one two...

ONE:

and THEN........

TWO:

hopefully that made someone's day :)

thursday thoughts: de colores...

color influences my eyes. when i saw this going on between the bici vatas the other day:

...it reminded me of easter times growing up with cascarones.

so colorful. so festive. so fun.

time to make more cozies and more bike piles i think :)

BVPV

springing into sunday...

last friday i went to a show with some other bikey people. 6 of them had bikes. while waiting for the changes at mojo's to literally cement into place, we decided to all park together. we're bike pile stylin'.

pre-show:

post-show:

now really, who is going to be bold enough to mess with that pile style?

happy springing forward this evening everybody! days are only going to get longer...more time in the saddle. i, for one, am excited! :)

¿quién es esa niña?

in the words of madonna above and below..."who's that girl?"

Trial Parking. Is That Like A Training Bra?

This is a trial of on-street parking that the City has put in. It will be taken down on December 4th. My question is, why? Just drill those puppies in there! I am sure it has something to do with our stupid injunction, but I have had enough. If I had enough money, I think I would just start buying bike racks and installing them around the City myself- Johnny Bikerack!

I wonder if I could have one of these placed in front of my home?