Cyclist Undermined

What is happening here? Who is doing the drilling? What is the cyclist thinking or seeing?

Cops and Magazines

I exited the office into much cooler and grayer weather than I expected today. I dodged the smokers who so consistently block the doorway and unlocked my bike. By the time I had arced around Grandview and got to the hospital parking lot, I came upon the Frenchman again. He wasn't pedaling but walking rather hurriedly. He was rushing to meet a friend, so we had only a quick chat, but during our brief updates he explained that the crazy screaming car driver had harassed him yet again. This time, however, the Frenchman called the cops!  Excellent! Having quickly memorized the offending car's license plate number (a skill we cyclists must master), he was able to dispatch the police to whomever has been regularly causing him grief during his commutes (see my earlier post). There is nothing so unnverving as hearing a speeding car approaching your rear and then have to endure screams coming from their errant drivers!

Following our converstion I headed along the bypass to the local, last remaining big bookstore for some sketching. Locking up again to the gas pipes, I then sat near a magazine rack and took this impression:

Sufficient Energy & Gas Station

This morning I was running a touch late as I hit the street on my commute. The delay resulted from my being sluggish and congested. A plate of two eggs mixed with cheese, more decaf and a hot shower lent me enough additional energy to get underway. Although I doubted the wisdom of riding with insufficient umph, the commute into work didn't move me backwards in terms of my general constitution.


Also low on energy is this gas station I pass each day, seemingly worn out with its defunct fuel pumps and growing collection of abandoned cars:

Looking Down on Handlebars

Your Bike Stinks

As I headed home yesterday, up the longest hill in my commute, I heard a whining buzz stinging me (audibly) from behind in my head. I assumed it was a motorcycle. To my surprise it was a bicycle with supplemental gas engine attached.  I kept myself steady as the racket neared in its Dopler way.  Then I looked over my right shoulder and saw something like this:

This type of bike -- mangled with a gasoline engine -- really defeats at least one key purpose of biking, which is to be earth-friendly.  I'm all for the electric hybrid bicycles but gasoline powered types are noisy and stinky and just seem to rub against the je ne sais quoi of bicycles. Thus, this particular cyclist -- if we can call him that; the stinky cyclist -- is missing the point.  The point of not polluting and the point of exercise. Perhaps also an aesthetic point. I understand some folks can't handle big hills. Just fine. In this case the electric models are a fine choice. Of course, latter are quite pricey, but not so much more than what's shown above. In this gentlemen's case, he looked fit enough to climb this 3/4 mile stretch of the Camp Hill bypass. Perhaps I'll have an opportunity to discuss the matter with him, if he's willing to stop pedaling (er, turn off his engine) and chat.

Cyclists Passed a Sketcher

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Waiting in the late afternoon sun for friends to arrive at the Tibbet's Point Lighthouse earlier this month, I caught this shadow of myself and the light falling on an old shed. Several cyclists past by as I painted, as this is a popular riding spot with no traffic, and an annual French Festival to boot.

Brief Bike Break

Somehow I squeezed in another “ride and sketch” this week.  It’s been quite busy with proposals and reports due, but this deskwork must be balanced with cycling and sketching. I afforded myself about 30 minutes of extra time to ride into town (by way of a long steep hill and over train tracks) and find a place to park and sketch. I came upon a small wooden bench on a brick-paved sidewalk and managed to put this sketch together prior to riding over to the kids to grab them from theater camp.

Bike and Sketch and Bike

The logistics of kid shuttling interfered with riding into work in today's cool, blue-skied weather, although post-office I did manage to ride over to the grocery store and sketch the rising tide of commuters who arrive there as they left their respective employers (I had arrived 30 minutes prior to the rush). The combination of riding and sketching is ideal, providing the double-agency combo of self-locomotion and artistic expression in one delightful dollop. It resulted in this sketch:

After perusing a couple art magazines at the neighboring big box bookstore I headed home to pack a picnic and rendezvous with family and friends. It was then that I made a new acquaintance who had transported himself to the park on a BikeE (below), and he was kind enough to let me ride it. 

Postured with a dash of recline against a fabric seat-back is quite a contrast to my leaning forward on the Trek, on which I support my weight on rubber grips. It took a moment to realize what a lower center of gravity is like while pedaling, but it was quite a comfortable ride. I also appreciated the proximity of the controls (lights, computer, brakes, etc) being much closer than on my hybrid. I'll order two of these for immediate shipping.

Imagined in VeloOrange

Like every other bicyclist I am enjoying the Spring weather. With it I got a few rides in (Spring deluges and complicated schedules prevented more outings). One of them was late this afternoon, where I made a quick dash to the grocery store for dinner ingredients. I lock up with my own Ben-fashioned steel cable that stretches seven feet through my front and rear wheel, and through the loops of my panniers. Frankly, this lock has to go because it’s not hardy enough for a determined thief, but it is lightweight and easy to deal with.  The ride there is only one mile from my house, and today I slipped beyond so many motorists idling away their gasoline and rumps in car seats.

Here’s my bike imagined in a different color against the backdrop of the grocery store’s parking lot and entryway:

Earlier in the week I met a fellow cyclist on the morning commute. This is such a pleasure yet unfortunately a rarity. Riding in tandem gave a sense (mainly a false one) of greater security, as the car people SURELY saw TWO cyclists better than just one of us. We had the micro-collective going. A dyad! Are things changing for the better? I thought of Copenhagen then. And now I’m thinking of Copenhagen again. And reality is setting in…and Camp Hill is quite the opposite in terms of biking culture. One day….  ….I might move to Copenhagen….

More Cold

My riding is disabled by lousy weather combined with my recuperation from a cold. I leave my esteemed readers with a watercolor of my shadow last month...

Cycling in View

Sometimes I simply draw cycling landscapes...