Bike waves

When I ride I often wave. I wave to motorists that seem to be acknowledging me and wait patiently for me to pass in front of them. Sometimes I wave at other cyclists going by or to bus drivers who are courteous or whom recognize me. And yes, occasionally I wave (no, not flip off) to people who buzz by very close or whom honk, or otherwise *appear* to be intentionally treating me different because I am on a bike. Monday, while waiting to cross a busy road in Christiansburg, a man in a car waved three of us through. In this case we decided to cross, even though a motorcycle was coming along from the right and had the right of way. This "courteous" driver was going against convention (the laws of the road) and trying to be helpful. "Thanks?" - we thought - as we proceeded to cut in front of the motorcyclist, who appeared to be slowing down for us to cross. Also on Monday, Wall Street Journal editorial board Dorothy Rabinowitz was making waves as she discussed the “all-powerful enterprise” of the bike lobby in a Monday's online Salon.com article entitled, "Wall Street Journal courageously takes on the totalitarian bike lobby." You can decide for yourself if New York's "best neighborhoods" are really now "begrimed by these blazing-blue Citi Bank bikes," with its new bike sharing program. On the same day, the Wall Street Journal published an article about Bangkok's bike-sharing plan, a trend which seems to be following the likes of other big cities including Paris, Washington, DC, London, Barcelona, - oh, and did I mention New York City?

Cycling on sidewalks

Wow, this is a hot topic! The Town posted this today:  Sidewalks Off Limits to Skateboards and Bicycles Downtown Blacksburg, apparently in response to skateboarders along the new College Avenue Promenade, designed to encourage (favor?) pedestrian traffic. Cyclists retorted with a range of responses such as:

Roanoke City Mayor (riding illegally on sidewalk?) in 2009

• This really ticks me off. They have made the streets ... VERY unfriendly to bikes, and have offered no alternative for bikes.
• I'm all for this. Bicyclists riding around people on sidewalks is very dangerous .. it damages our standing in the community having cyclists ... on the sidewalks.
• If someone does ride safely . . . they should be allowed ... 
• Back to the cultural shift idea. Do you lead the way by encouraging change toward a more alternate transportation friendly environment or do you legislate the problem away aggressively? It’s much easier to go the second way ...
• Va Tech needs to do a better job of separating cyclists and pedestrians on campus. Only policy wonks understand the difference between campus and the town.
• I think one of the best things we can do (other than get involved in the planning process) is continue to ride our bikes through downtown and obey the traffic laws. If this means you have to go down an extra block to make your turn, so be it ... (but) Putting bikes, skateboards, and peds on the same sidewalk (not multi-use path) seems like a really bad and hazardous idea. 

I suppose the jury is still officially out; however, I think the bottom line is:
     It is legal to ride bicycles on Virginia Tech sidewalks.*
     The northern sidewalk along Collage Avenue is Virginia Tech property.†
     Therefore, it is legal to ride a bicycle on the northern (VT) side of the College Avenue sidewalk.

The bigger issue of how to make Blacksburg more bicycle friendly is still up for debate. Virginia Tech has made lots of progress; on 5/13/13, VT was designated as a Bicycle Friendly University; perhaps the town can become a "progressive small town" like its neighbor down south.

*According to Virginia Tech's Policy 5005, p. 2: "... with the exception of times when there is heavy pedestrian traffic on sidewalks ... when sidewalks are congested, bicyclists shall dismount completely and walk."
†According to The College Avenue Promenade Concept Plan (Aug. 2010), p. 95-97 includes 12/13/09 release of property from VT to the Town with the property line from the southern edge of the sidewalk southward toward the street.

Liv-ing in a Vel-cro world

As cyclists, we take some things for granted. Velcro might be one of them. How is it produced? Who makes it? What is it made of? Apparently it was invented in 1948, and it has made its way onto many cycling accessories such as shoes, ankle bands, and panniers (aka., a "shopping bag" that hangs on a bike rack). We may not often stop to appreciate it but as the song could go, "We are liv-ing in a Vel-cro world. Vel-el-cro!" (sung to Madonna's Material Girl).

Who has a spare bike?

As a regular commuter, one might consider having a "spare" bike. This can be a cheapo - just something you can grab in a pinch when needed. Case and point: Yesterday I rode to meet someone, had my meeting, and when I came back out to leave - flat tire! I started walking and then called my wife who was home and who picked me up (nice to live in a small town) . . . when I got home I grabbed my trusty spare (a single-speed Schwinn I paid $80 for - used - many years ago) and got back to work. I strongly recommend a spare bike for everyone, especially if you rely on cycling throughout the week.

Cycling can be dirty

Commuting by bicycle does have its downfalls. "Yes, that's yet another reason not to do it." Feel free to use that excuse if you want to, but this one is my own fault. Long story, short: Awhile ago, my chain was having some issues, so I ended up shortening it -  a bit too much. Now when I forget about it and shift into my "big-big" combo (the big chair ring on the front, and the big chain ring on the back, sorta like this) my chain is basically too short, and the chain get's stuck in that position. The only real way to get it working property is to help it down by hand ... yes, cycling can be dirty!

Women on bikes

Right at about minute 27 of run #2 of my 1/2 marathon program, I saw something like this photo. It was a woman riding her bike on Main Street - no helmet, wearing a skirt, looking pretty content. A good sign? We can debate about her lack of helmet as part of her attire, but she reminded me of something I heard a few weeks ago that went something like this: "If you want to know how bike friendly your community is, you don't need detailed bikeability indexes - just measure the proportion of cyclists who are female." Score 1 for the women - yes, even riding helmetless on Main Street, she is relatively safe in Blacksburg, I would say. Any guesses on our ratio of women-to-men cyclists? 5 to 1?  3 to 1?

Cross-training

Erik playing rugby, circa 1986-1987

Cyclists should run; runners should cycle; weight-lifters should run; swimmers should lift; you get the idea. Mix it up. Even elite competitors cannot sustain the same activity every day. Today on my day off of running, I got in about 13 miles from commuting and sprinting to/from a meeting. Then I got in a crossfit workout (in part, including 45 pull-ups!). I am tired, but my mood is good. I think I hit the right balance of activity, food-intake, and now, time for sleep!