Wildflowers and Birds...

Fun in Sun

Traveling with much efficiency and speed on this Giant Defy in gorgeous weather outside State College, PA.

State Control

I am recently informed by our township leaders that the likelihood of a bike lane on the Pike is much less likely because it is a state road with heavier traffic. This was not pleasant news, and  seemed somewhat illogical. Big city bike paths are a case in point for me. Take New Yorkers, who pedal parallel to rush hour traffic on Eighth Avenue every day. Their bike lanes are associated with overall declines in bike fatalities since they were developed.


Of course, traffic free bike trails can offer an idyllic experience. There's a fine route from 25th and Market Streets in the Camp Hill Borough that finds its way through calm residential streets, then through a pedestrian tunnel, to Seibert Park.  

I hit about 52 mph on this hill!

I  hopped this bridge in one daring 30' jump!

Halfway north through Seibert Park trees surround the route, where it becomes an unpaved path. A small stream runs adjacent to the path, as it winds downhill toward the Conodoguinet.  I didn't have time to follow the Conodoguinet, but from that point, one can ride with little traffic for several more miles to and along Oyster Mill Rd., via Conodoguinet Drive.  

The Conodoguinet...finally free of sharks.

Unfortunately, none of these tree-lined routes get me to work...

Cyclist Undermined

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

Bikes May Pass!

The other day I was riding toward work, through a construction zone, and all the cars were stopped and waiting for the construction worker to spin the sign from STOP to SLOW.  But then the worker turned to me and said, "Bikes can go..."  while all the cars had to wait!

Your interpretations of this event are welcome...

Mahogany

If bicycles are an antidote to environmental stress, I'm not sure what to make of a mahogany bike rack. I saw this one in Charlottesville, VA, this weekend.  My first reaction was that it was a wonderfully crafty creation, but now I'm wondering if all the carbon offset made possible by this pedaler was just zeroed out by chopping down the tree from which this rack came.  Or maybe this is sustainably harvested mahogany (although I'm not sure given the time it takes to grow a mahogany tree). For this cyclist's sake, he did say the wood pieces were scraps from another's project, so maybe he saved on the shipping charges for bike rack shipped from China.

Silhouette Beckons

My rear view mirror caught your silhouette in the distance this morning. Your bulky figure in the distance suggested not a racing roadie but more likely a commuter. On the declivity your silhouette grew larger, and then I slowed a bit to learn who you are. You pedaled determinedly and had only a brief "hello" for me, through your balaclava, when you passed by. I had hoped for a chat, but no matter. Then, when you and I were stopped at the light at 15th Street (you didn't get THAT far ahead), you foolishly moved forward, looking to thread yourself through the eye of the needle that was moving rush hour traffic.

Very Urban Cycling

  西洋人 [Seiyo-jin], aka "The Westerner," is always reading interesting things and finds worthwhile bicycling ephemera on the web. So good of him to send them my way.  Here's one of them, relayed initially through The Atlantic from Mexico City:

I can identify with this rider’s enthusiasm as he slides and turns in the midst of so much, albeit polluted and overcrowded, life. I remember the rush one can feel when pushing through urban traffic, feeling superior to the masses stuck in clogs of cars and trucks. In my college days my friend and I had nerve, less judgment and whistles, that propelled us through tight traffic in Philly. We snaked through gaps and narrow passages defined by endless lines of chassis and bumpers. Luckily we didn't get hurt. I hope this man continues to avoid accidents just as we did....