Time To Flip The Script

The internet is an amazing place. It is not on a map, but it is most assuredly a place, and that is the strength of it. All people, from all places on geographical maps can gather in this electronic land and discuss what is important to them as a group. My firm belief is that these conversations are what will ultimately change our world for the better, not legislation or politicians or bailouts or any "ism" we can come up with.

That being said, I reposted a piece from last year over the weekend. I highly suggest you visit the comments section and then come back to this post. The conversation there is, currently, between Mexico City and Australia (Canberra and Brisbane) and Arizona and is about whether or not the current trend toward "cycle chic" is one that adds to or takes away from the total conversation of "bicycle culture".

photo by Richard Masoner of Cyclelicious

Looking at the picture above, I can see it from a few different perspectives, not all of them my own. There are those who feel that so many pictures of young, beautiful women on bicycles isn't much different than endless pictures of young men in spandex pounding the hills of France. In both instances, there is the perception of exclusivity and judgment of those who do not fit these molds. It is felt that because the woman in these pictures don't look like the "average" person that they no longer "represent" the "average cyclist". To make that claim though, there has to be consensus of just what the "average cyclist" is and if that is even relevant. Do we need more of what is currently the "average" in most parts of the Western world? Isn't that what has brought us, in part, to where we are today- that "average cyclist" has become something other than the cute girl next door out for a little fun on a Friday night.

Some would say that in those places where helmets are mandatory, that the idea of a "chic" cyclist is not possible. The helmets make cycling seem too dangerous, and thus, not attractive to people not already on bicycles. While I make no secret of my personal dislike of helmets, I do not believe that they have all that much power to deter and that the problem, instead, is the rhetoric around them that makes cycling less attractive to some. There is no doubt that in places where helmets are mandatory that cycling numbers have dropped tremendously, it has been shown repeatedly (go Google it). However, how often are people shown in helmets actually portrayed attractively?

If more people saw images of what wearing a helmet could look like, in situations that do not involve speed, steroids or jerseys, I suspect that helmets would become less of a deterrent (and yes, infrastructure is what really counts, but we are not talking about that here). If we stop focusing on the fact that the woman in the picture (our own Meligrosa) is young and on a road bike and fashionable and oh-my-god-I-could-never-look-like-that what we could see is a person who has chosen to embrace her surroundings and ride her bicycle her way and not the way we see people in bicycle catalogues. I know I will never look like this on my bicycle, but it shows me that I can look my way, even with a helmet.

photo by Iam Sterdam

The chances of the woman in the picture above being out and about in Denver, Colorado are pretty slim. People who ride bicycles for transportation in the vast majority of the US just do not look like this (people who ride bicycles for transportation in the vast majority of the world don't look like this). It is easy to dismiss this as "cycle chic" and leave it at that. More is required to see it for what it could be- not a judgment about what we each wear but a reminder that we can ride our bicycles with authority and confidence even in heels. There is nothing here that says you have to look like this to ride, only that looking like this doesn't mean that you can not ride.

photo by bitchcakesnyc of Bitch Cakes blog

When looking through photographs, I picked this one out specifically because it is a bit over the top. We have both ends of the spectrum here- chic/lycra, cruiser/road bike, heels/clipless... each rider completed the Tour de Queens (40ish miles). If they can ride together, then all those that fall in the spectrum between them can do the same. Each can just be who they are and ride.

The rest of us just need to start seeing in a broader perspective. When we worry about "chic", who has the best "infrastructure", hipsters, bicycles without brakes, high heels, vintage, carbon....we forget that the common denominator are the people who ride all those carbon, mixte, speed machines from 70's era Amsterdam. We can continue to worry about what the people look like, or we can celebrate all of the wonderful new people on bicycles, no matter how they got there. At least, it seems to me.

Addendum: I was just about to re-write this post because it wasn't coming across the way I wanted it to. But then I saw The-Most-Stupid-Bicycle-Article-Ever (two words- titanium chainguard) and some of the silly comments that accompany it and decided to keep it as is. 1 Girl, 2 Wheels probably puts it all together better than I do.

The Fuzz Rides A Bike

San Francisco is a strange place- a liberal city that tries reeeeeeeaaaaalllly hard to not show its conservative underbelly. However, this is a city that was founded by two institutions, the Catholic church and the military. While time has brought us so many of the things by which our City by the Bay is now known, our underpinnings are still quite authoritarian. One of the areas where this dichotomy can be easily seen is in the relationship between the San Francisco Police Department and the bicycle riders of the City.

SFPD has a long history of difficulty with "fringe" groups, be they hippies or gays or protesters against the 1980's war in Nicaragua or, currently, bicyclists. I frequently think it must be difficult to be an authority figure in a city that is not known for its respect of authority, but I have also thought that these are issues that both sides have contributed to equally. With the newish Chief of Police, Chief Gascón, talking about "cracking down" on Critical Mass (I wonder if he knows the history of the protest and how ineffective it has been to try and stop it), many cyclists here have had further cause to feel that the SFPD has no desire to understand our needs and challenges.

Now we have a film of the Chief out on a ride with the Editor of SF Streetsblog, Bryan Goebel and Andy Thornley, Assistant Director of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition. I am hoping this means that Chief Gascón is starting to understand that the issue in SF is not that cyclists are outlaws, but that the situation that stands in SF, and has for over 20 years, is one where cyclists feel little allegiance to the law because we have been shown repeatedly that the law of SF has shown little allegiance to us. Hopefully, this ride is a beginning of a discussion that does not rely on the assumption that there is no way to make cycling, and protection of cyclists, a normal and safe reality in San Francisco.

Multidimensional

What exactly is the difference between a car driver and a bicycle rider? When you really get down to it, what is the difference? I know we all play up the idea that there is one; cyclists are good, drivers are lazy, bicycles are green, cars kill... but when we dig down a bit, does the comparison hold up? When we take the machines out of the equation, are the people who use them different from one another in the same ways?

I am a bicycle rider, a very visible one. Last year I rode three times as many miles as I drove. In that time I experienced just about all the things that urban bicycle riders all over the world do. I have been doored (good for me I am quick to react so while there was a deal of swearing and name calling, there was no contact), hooked (all but one time accidentally), I have had flat tires and had to replace my tire because of all the glass in it, experienced lack of safe parking, forgotten my lock and thus had to get people to let me bring my bike into stores, not positioned my seat correctly so that my knees became so painful I couldn't straighten them...

At the same time, I have rediscovered the sheer joy of random honeysuckle, how much fun it is to hear those little bits of passing conversation that couldn't possibly mean what they sound like, that thrill of seeing a reflection of myself (from the good angle) in a shop window, waving at people I know as they move about town, the best legs I have had in years and the best part of my day- the Snugglybumpkiss

I have a great car. It is a convertible (fully automatic open and close!) with a leather interior. Driving around with the top down on a warm evening on the coast with the full moon in the sky, listening to audio books while I drive through the mountains, talking to my kids while we tool around town listening to the radio, just having a space that is my own anywhere I go...

Traffic jams are the worst thing in the world that does not involve mass death (at least for me), sitting in a car seat for too long makes my back feel like it is on fire, I get car sick if I don't drive, I hate other drivers and find myself swearing at them constantly (even if the kids are in the car with me), every time something goes wrong with it it costs me a thousand dollars and I keep getting tickets on it because I forget where I parked it last week.

Maybe that is the secret of getting people out of their cars- let them hate things about cycling and love things about their cars. No one has to be the bad guy. We can all be complex persons who experience all kinds of things so that we can appreciate the simple beauty of our bicycles without guilt or defensiveness or fear.


Watcha think about that?

Lance & Tony

Here it is. Lance Armstrong and Tony Kornheiser. I will leave it to you to decide what it means to you. I am not surprised that Mr. K hasn't been on a bike since he was a child. I was surprised that he has a daughter who bicycle commutes to work. Props to Lance for taking up the cause of the 40 yo mothers!

Stupid. Plain Stupid.

When people have a forum to speak, they should really think before they open their mouths. If we can blame AC/DC for causing teenagers to commit suicide, then why can't we hold commentators like this responsible for firefighters shooting riders with their children?

What these people fail to realize is that their words, "just tap them... not a fatal tap, just knock them over... if you aren't rubbing you aren't racing" are just as bad as "he's just a nigger" or "he's just a filthy Jew" or "she was asking for it". There is no difference between gay bashing and inviting people to run down cyclists. Advocating and trivializing violence and intimidation against any group is wrong and there are no degrees to it. Stating that anyone's right to life and safety is less than your right to drive a "big powerful car" is hate speech.

ESPN is the home of this ridiculous man. He represents them. If I watch this show and hear this out of his mouth, then my assumption is that ESPN backs his words and agrees with him. ESPN suspended him for criticizing a fellow commentator's wardrobe choices, but will he be suspended for encouraging his listeners to kill? I understand that Lance Armstrong will be confronting Mr.Kornheiser on his show over this issue. I am sure that many will think that is enough.

I think he should be fired. Had he advocated violence against any group based on race or sexual orientation he would be out on his butt. It is that simple. If you encourage others to maim and kill on a national television show, you should be fired.





Feel free to comment.

via Bikerumor.

(addendum) Here is where you can let the network know you feel the same (or maybe you don't but I will just think you do). I have already sent off my feelings on the subject.

Public Service Announcement

The days are starting to lengthen in the Western Hemisphere. Spring is starting to show its self. Those who prefer to ride in lycra are pulling out the lycra shorts.

Please, for all of us out there who ride behind you, if you are pulling out shorts from last year, please, please, please, make sure they have not become see-through with use!!!! I rode for a mile today behind a guy whose chamois shorts were so worn I could tell just how hairy his buttocks were. It was awful. I couldn't catch up with him enough to let him know that I was getting mooned every time he leaned forward. He probably would have liked to know that when the sun hit him his shorts were thin enough to detect the shifting shadows in his crack.

So, people. If you wear lycra and it is from last year, make sure you check it out for coverage. There are enough road hazards and distractions for us all without the addition of de facto nudity.

Oh yes, one other item- Just because you have on Hi Viz clothing on does not mean you have the right of way. The drivers may be blinded by your visibility but they still have the right of way if they were already moving into the intersection when you decided to ride through it. The only thing that will happen here is that you will be more visible while getting hit.

Enough said. Go check your shorts and get riding.

Canary Is To Coal Mine As Tree Is To Traffic

For a nice change, we bring you this interesting view of the road from our frequent commenter, Val! We all have a road like this in our communities (unless you are reading this in Denmark or Holland or Japan or Sweden or.... in which case we give you this opportunity to see just what you are missing out on!). How do you see yours?


The neighborhood I live in is a somewhat isolated suburb, on top of a steep ridge. There are only three routes up or down this ridge, and all are crowded and challenging to ride. Here's one:




It doesn't really show, but that's a 10% grade there, with a 40mph limit that almost all the traffic exceeds. This is a section where I frequently use the sidewalk, especially coming up (and, yes, if I'm doing that, I'm going at pedestrian speed, yeilding to people, and smiling as I pass them - politeness always helps).

Further down the hill, the street is lined with cherry trees:




It's very pleasant for those of us not sealed in high speed boxes, and you can see that February is turning out to be quite nice here in the Puget Sound area. As we proceed along this stretch, however, we see that not all of these trees are standing straight:




In fact, quite a few seem less than vertical:





What could cause such a thing? Perhaps this is a clue:



Or, if that is not enough, how about:




If the sight of a truncated trunk lying on the ground with its bark torn off still doesn't tell the tale, I direct your attention to my final exhibit:




That's right, what we are seeing here is automotive damage. The combination of a steep hill, crowded road, and people in a hurry leads to motor vehicles going off the road in this area with alarming regularity. I shudder to think of anyone who may have been walking when these things happened. The trees, at least, can adapt and survive, usually. There are several blank spaces in the row that have been left by trees that were too damaged.

Why post this here? For me, this street is a constant graphic reminder of some of the contrasts between bikes and cars. When I am riding, I can appreciate the cherry trees, which are barely noticeable from a sealed environment going 40-50mph, and I know that no matter how out of control I get, I will never knock one over. We hear about illnesses caused by exhaust fumes, we read the statistics about deaths in traffic, and we know that driving increases stress in drivers, but constant visible damage like this has another sort of impact. Every time I see these trees, I am glad to be riding.

Do you have a ride you would like us to see? We would love to view the world through your eyes. A favorite road? A place that leaves you wondering? Something that makes you want to become an urban planner? Share with the world!

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.

Rewording

Mikael posted this quote over at Copenhagenize.


I propose an updated version

People of the world
you have traded your birthright
for a world poisoned
by cars

Rampant spread of cars has
stolen the streets from your children

Belief that a car is the only way
kills our women, and men, and children, and pets, and environment.

People of the world
Rise up and claim your birthright-
a world not ruled by machines and fear.
Reclaim your power to be strong
without destroying all there is around you.
Reclaim your power to be self-sufficient
without endangering others.

Look to yourself to be what you want to see in the world.

What's you version?

Continued Challenges

This post does not have pictures. You will soon realize why.

This evening, the Calitexican and I headed out for what should be the traditional Friday night tacos and beer (my fish tacos were wonderful). Having just purchased some new books while waiting for her arrival (Son Of A Witch, Everything Is Illuminated & the Collected Works Of Willa Cather) I was anticipating a great evening.

After wonderful conversation (Cali's good friend S., who was with us, has just as much fascination as I do with the subject of work related disease) and great food and a few Negra Modelos we were ready to hit my favorite night spot for some jazz and whiskey (The Rite Spot). There was an open staple to lock up to and the sound coming out of the club promised good music and a mellow crowd. I was anticipating a Laphroig (neat, water back) to enjoy with the stand up bass playing... when my hand and lock both met with a nice, wet, pile of recently rained on dog shit. There is nothing quite like walking into a jazz club, covered in crap, certainly not something I have ever experienced before. I will say though, it did get me priority into the single stall bathroom, despite the line.

People. Please. Don't tie your dogs up to the bike parking. It is really just not a good thing.

Market Musings

Marketing. Today I am thinking about marketing. There is a lot of marketing going on out there in the bicycling world these days. A great deal of money and time and effort is being put into just how to get all of us to interact, on one level or another, with the bicycle. While I do not have numbers to back up my theory, it is my guess that there is a great deal more time and money put into getting us to buy bicycles than into those things that would get us to actually ride them more.

I do not mean to be cynical in this line of thinking. We need the bicycle companies of the world to be successful so that there are bicycles for all of us to use. A competitive industry means choice in what we ride and how much we pay for it. I am simply wondering aloud if there aren't better ways to do it so that the sales are improved through marketing lifestyle vs gear ratios.

On the Specialized web site, there is a section for women. All of the pictures on it are of women either in the mud, on their way to the mud, resting after being in the mud... Please, don't get me wrong, I love riding in the mud! Off road riding is one of my favorite things and I miss being able to do it greatly. What strikes me is the lack of scope the marketing shows.
Recently, Specialized has tried to branch out with their Globe line. Not only have they branched out with the machines themselves, they have broadened their view of how to market them. As many know, Globe gave many bloggers out there Globe bikes to ride on the condition that the people who received their bikes wrote about the experience and how their bikes fit into their daily lives. They chose a broad cross section of people from different age groups and regions and races.

I think this is brilliant! There is no beating you over the head with "Globe is great!", just a lot of stories about how life is lived on a bicycle. The regular Specialized web site leaves me cold. There is nothing there for me as I know nothing about bike parts, and quite frankly, I am not that interested in them. The people pictured do not represent me, how I live or even how I want to live. The Globe blogs make me want to know more about the company and the bikes they make. The people that ride them look like me and my family and my neighbors.

There are other bits to this thought floating in my head. How women and young people are ignored by the industry as a whole. How a desire to simply live with a bicycle seems to get eclipsed by those who feel that we should all aspire to be fast and muddy. How cyclists are portrayed as incompetent or daredevil (or both) despite the fact that our vehicles do not accelerate out of control or knock down power polls or leak antifreeze that kills animals that drink it.

I guess I'll just keep plugging away with my camera and take pictures of what I think makes cycling attractive to the masses.

It is certainly what attracts me- a 39 year old mother of three with a career and a commute (not so much career / commute these days, but you get my point). My guess is that I was not what came out of the various marketing meetings and focus groups : )

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!

Stupid Is As Stupid Does

As much as I hate to bring any attention to this, there are things to be said and I have a forum in which to say them.

Streetsblog SF has an article today about a Facebook group called "There's a perfectly good bike path right next to the road you stupid cyclist". As the name may suggest, it is not a pro-cycling group. There is a great deal of talk about whether or not FB should delete the group or not, I have my opinions about it. That is not, to my eyes, the meat of the issue though.

When people get on a roll about "outlaw cyclists" who "never stop at lights' and "never yield to pedestrians" they forget they are talking about people. Cyclists are equally at fault when they insist on talking about "fucking cars" and "ruining the environment" and "never stopping at lights". Again, the people in the situation are forgotten and the stupid machines are placed in their stead so that we can rally and rail against the "other".

Just to put this into perspective for everyone, this is what the "other" looks like

When groups advocate dooring cyclists or running them off the road or intimidating them to "teach them a lesson" this is who gets targeted. Either directly, as my kids have experienced to some extent, or indirectly by not being allowed to ride because there are people out there who think that violent, hateful, abusive language, images and actions are justified.

So, you can go read up on this silly group if you want. I feel very sorry for our Australian friends who must deal with this crap everyday (the group is Australian in origin). There is even a group that has been started to counter this, but I am not sure that that is the answer either. Behavior that is unconscious, from people who are not self-aware can not be countered with reason. So there is only one option really-

Keep riding! Smile at those you pass. Be patient with those who do not know. Keep your eyes on the road. But most of all, KEEP RIDING!

Waltz Of The Bikes

This is a little movie put together by Mike Rubbo over at Situp-Cycle.com. He is the man that did the films about Sue Abbott and her fight to overturn a ticket she received while riding helmet-less in Australia. What I love about this film is the sheer mundane nature of it. No one in it is remarkable. Each person lives next door to each of us. There is absolutely nothing in it that could not happen anywhere in the world, if only we chose to have it be this way. Everything is only as hard as we make it, so maybe watching this will help us all to try to make things easier and nudge us to just get out and try a new way of living. Enjoy!

Make A Difference

Does it come as an great surprise that the "leaders" of the world can not get it together to keep us all from killing ourselves? Just because they all decided to go to Copenhagen for a conference does not mean they went with any intention of actually doing anything.

I am quite sure that this woman's concern is genuine, I am just not sure it is concern about how to actually effect change in her country.

The problem is not politicians. They are just people we put in power so we don't have to think about anything. The problem is us. We allow ourselves to get overwhelmed by the problems of the world and then decide to do nothing because nothing we do can make a difference.

Wrong! Wrong thinking, wrong rationalizing. The biggest thing each of us can do is to not contribute to the problem. Every time we chose to do something for ourselves instead of taking the easy way out, we stop contributing to the problem.

image by Cycleicious

Every time we reach out and blog about our world and what we see in it, we stop contributing to the problem. By increasing the knowledge and making connections we strengthen our ability to make things better.

image by Meligrosa

Every time we decide to make something with our own hands we stop contributing to the problem. When we tap our own creativity and potential we realize we do not need as much as we thought. We find we are more than we thought we were.

image courtesy of Mikael

When we know our history we stop contributing to the problem. We see that the answers have always been there if we had just bothered to pay attention. When we look to our past and accept all it has to offer us, good and bad, we can move on with doing the right thing now.

another Meli pic

When we celebrate what we do we stop contributing to the problem. When we stop long enough to see and appreciate what we have done so far it gives us the energy to keep going.

image by Full Hands

When we teach our children to live more lightly on the planet we stop contributing to the problem. What we teach them now will determine how they live for the rest of their lives. Do we teach them helplessness or do we teach them self sufficiency? Do we teach them fear or how to love the world they live in?

photo by Ramona

Will we learn to share the road? Not just with bicycles and cars, but with each other? Will we learn that all of us live on the Earth and that we are all equal in the eyes of the Universe? When we do we will stop contributing to the problem.

image by Lee Sie

When we see the horizon is long and the sky is blue and the road is open we stop contributing to the problem. Loving the world for what is is the first step to no longer being a part of the problem.

Don't wait for politicians to do the right thing. Ride your bike. It really does make a difference. Every time you do it.

It's Raining, It's Pouring & I Am Sure Not Snoring!

This is what my neighborhood has looked like for the last several days. Many of the places I have needed to be during this time have been places where wet clothes would not mix well, so I have not been on my bike during that time. I do not feel guilty about this, that would be silly. There is nothing that says we all have to suffer to ride. The difficult part is that I have not been able to sleep! I am so used to having such a high level of physical activity that without it I don't burn off enough energy!

Today is clear and there are no impediments to my customary ride to pick up Declan at school. The trip is about 15-17 miles there and back. There are many good places to stop for coffee along the way, I can get the grocery shopping for dinner done and, hopefully, I'll find some good pictures to snap!

Mostly, with luck, tonight I will sleep like a normal person : )

Sunday beats: Beards, bikes, tattoos and cameras.

If you haven't seen this is a fun spread by now, here it is again. I always think the SF cool kids are super cool, but this makes them a tad outdated, they are now few years behind ;-)
Not until last year I started noticing chest huge tattoos, and most guys are still wearing the Mountain Man costume, even if it doesn't get much lower than 40° around here. Cute spread and the captions are so spot on, it hurts.
See link, zoom icon included, here: PASTE magazine »

Paste magazine | November 2009

Light 'Em If You Got 'Em

OK people. We changed the clocks a couple of weeks ago. It is getting dark really early and it isn't going to change anytime soon.

PUT SOME LIGHTS ON YOUR BIKES!

As much as we all like to get upset at motorists for not seeing us, it isn't a good idea to make it even worse for them (and us).




I write this because on my way home tonight I saw probably 20 cyclists on one of the roads I drove. Of them, 2 had lights! 10%! None of them could be easily seen in the dark. I was looking for bikes because it is a really popular route, but even with me paying a lot of attention there were several riders I just could not see until I was almost on them.




Lights are cheap, they are easy to install and they are important! So put them on your bike and use them!