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.

Philly Cyclists Lobby!

When I saw this mass of cyclists in front of the Cannon House Office Building this morning I didn't quite believe they belonged to Congressional staffers. It was instead a PELETON OF CYCLIST LOBBYISTS! A good omen or bike policy pipe dream?

Germans Plan Their Bike Trips Better Than Me

OK, OK! I know I could plan my rides better, but this is too much!  Well, its not really too much. It's actually very cool and aesthetically and logically and technologically super. And if you happen to find yourself in the Schleswig-Holstein region of Germany you can take advantage of it. Check out this lovely route planner... 

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Despite my planning shortcomings, I can proudly state that I am among a demographic of American men that is biking more frequently. Whether or not I am a Java scripting programmer (like some folks in the Scheswig-Holstein region), I am a member of a "biking more frequently" group, according to some analysis by folks over at Rutgers. Apparently, this "surge" happens most in cities that have upped the infrastructure for bikes. Given that I haven't seen any infrastructure surging around here, I must be an anomoly!

Flat Views

Recently I hit a dry wall screw and it gave me a nasty flat. My patch kit failed twice, thus I had to walk. But from my perspective as a pedestrian, taking a step by step approach to the bicycling shop a mile ahead, I acquired a new view of the road I so usually ride on.  I very much appreciated this perspective: of the mulch the Chinese restaraunt owner is placing to improve his garden plot, two dogs who bark at those who amble past the flower stand, a woman's conversation about the bus she was waiting for, and a home renovation project tucked between narrow spaces of old home in the Borough.  These things don't usually appear us cyclists; we're moving too fast usually, and we're focused on riding safely. Yet it is those in cars who miss even more, with their air conditioners running, windows up, the engine burning fuel and maybe the radio blaring.  Again I see the amount of technology utilized as correlated with the amount of observation/experience of the natural present world one can have.

Cars, Humans and a Tragedy

So many Los Angelenos enjoyed last weekend's I-405 closure. It was, I suppose, like a massive snowfall here in the northeast, when people get to interact with other people because roads are blocked with snow, and neighbors come to the streets to shovel and socialize. That is, streets and cars don't rule the day, with their danger and their noise, dividing and interrupting our natural propensity to gather for human-to-human interaction. 

Perhaps this realization of "natural" human interaction is why so many people relished "Carmageddon."  It's like a freak, massive snow. This image of a completely empty freeway published by the Times last Sunday, being traversed by a lone cyclist, seems unreal to us. It's a shift in perspective, like blanket of snow on a modern landscape. Perhaps responding to this, other Californians raced a plane on their bikes that same weekend, and won! 


The car versus bike/pedestrian struggle in our post-industrial society is a pernicious dance. Or mosh pit. While I've read about several accidents and deaths on many blogs, the great worth of each day is now ever more apparent to me: Last weekend of friend of ours was left paralyzed from the waist down when he was struck by a vehicle on a morning bike ride. 

Locking Up

I need to upgrade my locking system, but at the moment here it is:

I'm not sure if it could get more basic. The benefit of the long narrow cable is that it, being about 7 feet long, feeds through both of my pannier bag handles AND my front and rear wheels AND whatever post or pipe I'm locking to. The cost? The cable ties need only a pliers to loosen up. Somehow I've gotten away with this easy to hack assemblage..

My son alerted me to this additional case of pro-bike graffiti on south 2nd Street, and today I snapped this pic of it. May its creator respond here to tell us his\her methods!

Canadians (the ones in Ontario) Who Bike

We just returned from a week in Canada, at a relatively remote lake two hours north of Kingston, ON. To get there we cross the border at Cape Vincent, NY, then drive briefly across Wolf Island, which is a bicyclist haven. You get to realize this soon after arriving on the island. Very little traffic, beautiful scenery form an ideal setting for rolling about. Also, perhaps, it is nature's movement of so many wind turbines on the island that also reflects the human propulsion of bicycles.


Bicyclists are most common at the northern end of Wolf Island, where a larger (and free) ferry brings many of them en masse from Kingston, ON, to the island for various day trips. Some routes are 25km, others are up to 50km. Most roads are paved, others gravel. All of the routes seem, from what you can gather in your car as you drive through, wonderful. Unfortunately, I haven't ever had a chance to ride them. I did manage to grab a couple pot-shots of cyclists as they arrived in Marysville: