Bikes (and tapas) in Frederick

It was a mass transit moment. My son and I drove to Frederick to rendezvous with his friend, who was using regional rail from Washington DC to reach us. Frederick is a midpoint between Washington and Harrisburg, so this kept said friend's mom off the crazy highways. Anyway, I had never been to old downtown Frederick before, but it was worth a couple hours of our time. Not only do I love pedestrian areas, but among the many restaurants was a fine tapas joint, albeit a pricey one, that was my son's first foray into Spanish food.


Needless to say, as we walked and dined, I snapped a few bike related photos.

Not sure if this pedal-cab would take you anywhere, but it did get you a  free ride to beer.

Not my style, but the color and flair are appreciated!

No Bike Share for Me

I've been in Washington D.C. the past couple of days and was very jazzed to see so many red rental bikes traversing so much of the downtown area. All of these bikes, outfitted with a chain guard, dynamo for multiple blinky lights, front storage rack and heavy duty rubber handle grips, are provided by Capital Ride Share. I stood in front of one station yesterday and watched the activity -- within 5-10 minutes there were at least 5 drop-offs or pick-ups. But not for me.  You can see my ticket and code for a one-day rental, easily obtained with a dip of my credit card.  But the code failed to work, and even after calling the customer service line I was rejected by the bike system. Quite a downer.  I blog about biking, ride bikes frequently, advocate for bike lanes, etc. etc., and the bike borg computer refuses me. What gives? Has Tron run amok inside the network? Oh no! 

Portland Cyclist Makes House Calls!

This just in....    西洋人  has informed me that docs ride bikes to patients in Portland! 

Mandala Pleasure

Seiyo-jin [  西洋人 ] a far flung correspondent of this blog, has recently sent me some nice shots of a semi-permanent mandala in Portland. Being a large biking community, I wonder how Portland pedalers respond to this when coming upon it. Is it a pleasure? Or do they get lost in the color and wind up more apt to accidents?

NYC Bike-Share Plagued by Questions....and Some NIMBYism

Yesterday the prospect of bike sharing kiosks in NYC graced the pages of the Times, yet the story (New York’s Bike-Share Program Is Plagued by Questions - NYTimes.com) quickly presented neighborhood squawking: following the kiosks' installation, will I have space to park my CAR? And will the sidewalks be squeezed out of existence by bike-share equipment? While I can sympathize with the preservation of sidewalk space in beautiful Village neighborhoods, those New Yorkers who are fretting at the loss of parking space might consider a move to the suburbs, where it's ample. The idea of cities as a solution to the world's crowded, polluted future is premised on mass transit and other efficiencies, including bikes. Anyone lamenting bike-share infrastructure misses the point.

Hartford Cycling

I can't say too much about cycling in Hartford, CT, but in my brief stay here (Monday-Tuesday) I located only one bike shop in the center of town and they don't rent bikes. A fellow Connecticut bike blogger indicated there are no bikes for rent in his state. Oh my! This is a sizable disappointment, as I endeavor to cycle in every city I go to.  I watched several pedalers moving around during the morning rush hour here. I had hoped to be one of them, even if awkwardly scrying safe pathways through traffic lanes I don't know well. 


In short, all I can offer about cycling in Hartford is my modified photo of two neglected bikes chained to a tree in the center of town:

Borneo Bicyclists

I feel pretty lucky to have a lead on bicycling in Borneo.  Last year we had an exchange student from Samarinda, and for the first time she’s been able to serve as a video correspondent for the bicycling scene in this equatorial town. As you will see below, many motorized scooters share a tight space with bicyclists here, as they move along past small shops at night in a cluster of vibrant, albeit noisy, energy.

Final Views of UK Bikes

There is, at the risk of being so banal, a great number of bikes of many types in UK cities. Is it social psychology, policy, geography or the design of Britain's cities that makes this the case? And how do bikes affect the aforementioned factors? Will bikes lead to H.G. Wells's dream of utopia? Perhaps for riders only. 

Among all those I saw, bikes offer much more efficacy to their users because they are low tech machines that maximize the potential of human locomotion. And because they are easy to repair, manage and operate, the do not leave their users dependent on something out of their control. No additional infrastructure is needed for bicyclists, save for a relatively hard surface. And when paired with trailers and dynamos, bikes are all the more effective, whether to carry something or move along at night.

Edinburgh Bike with Trailer

Glasgow Parking Lot

Argyle Street Bridge

Wee Bike in Windermere

Liverpool Train Station

London Bikes

Medieval street planning makes for interesting pathways among modern bikers in London. Certainly Romans did not consider the potential for collisions with cars when they laid down their streets. Those 14th century twists and turns also left me rather leery of renting a bike here, although I didn't have the time to do so in any case. But as I walked and bussed around town with my family I had many opportunities to see dozens and dozens of cyclists and just as many bikes chained and locked everywhere. This is no surprise of course given that I not in car-centric America, and Britain had been pushing bike commuting already as a further traffic solution to its jam-packed island.

And the city center was packed, especially at train stations. The busy rush of thousands of commuters and travelers herding themselves to different platforms, shoulder to shoulder, pulsed with noisy energy. Amid them one bicyclist stood out, his bike's wheels breaking the geometry of the crowd at King's Cross. This biker was having a heck of time with his bag, soft drink, pack and bicycle! 

Throughout our walks I saw many styles of bikes, including this whitewashed classic with matching seat and dynamo. Will it's contrast with London grays make it more likely to get ripped off? Or, is it too unique to permit an easy getaway?

Topping off all the cycling lanes and related sign-age in London is its bike sharing program, undoubtedly sponsored by a bank. Methinks the cycling culture and bankers are an unlikely pairing but these bike stands are omnipresent. I needed an account to rent one of these, which I saw many times over the four days we spent in town. Most of the time the bikes, like leaves missing from a winter limb, were being used (hopefully rented and not stolen). The rental program is complemented by steep fees to drive cars in the city during business hours.

Usually Not As Fun as Tokyo Cycling

Some fun loving Tokyo folk have made this video of their cruise through their city. Not quite like my solo rides through the Harrisburg area, but I'll definitely have to look into better lights for my Trek to make up some of the difference!
Tokyo Night Pedal Cruising Video

After the Exhibit - Philadelphia

I was in Philadelphia last Friday night and as I drove from one place to the other I kept exclaiming about so many bicyclists darting in front of our car (often helmetless), using and not using bike lanes, standing in contrast as human elements against a  steel and concrete backdrop.   It's as if I had to MAKE WAY for bicyclists, if only a touch. Wonderfully novel to a suburbanite! When in college I was among these urban types, too often darting through traffic with the false sense that the whistle in my mouth was a sufficient means to save my adolescent self from the chaos of metal laden traffic. Or is so much pedaling through traffic an experience to behold regardless of age? Is it vital? Spirited?  The bicyclists were weaving and wizzing and vital, there were no concerns among them.