Do you remember this http://www.streetfilms.org/how-to-use-a-bike-box/? How about this: http://www.streetfilms.org/portland-green-bike-box/?
Well Seattle Cyclists, prepare to move to the front of the queue (well at three intersections) at stop lights in the near future. Seattle will be creating bike boxes at three intersections coming up. One will be in the International district (7th & Dearborn) and two will be on Capitol Hill (E Pine & 12th and where E Madison intersects 12th Ave and Union St).
Hat tip to the Seattle PI Transportation Watch
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Thursday, June 10, 2010
"If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention!"
In the summer of 2000, I took a month-long vacation. On the first day, I stopped off in Eugene, OR to meet up with a gal I met online for lunch at the Saturday Market and a bike ride. She had a sticker on her bike's rear rack with the quote in the title.
Last night, my wife had the video below show up on her Facebook feed:
The video's ending statement got me thinking. When it comes to our environment; the effects of our dependence on oil and our problems with pollution, we focus on cars (or our use of them) as the cause of the problem. Simply stopping driving is not going to solve the problem. It will not magically plug the well that's shooting oil into the Gulf of Mexico. It won't heal or bring back all the marine and avian life destroyed by the spill. It will help lessen the need for the gas and motor oil and tar for roadways that comes from this oil. What of commercial farming that depends so much on petroleum and its by-products for fertilizers (not to mention to fuel tractors for working the farms and trucks to get the goods to market)? What of fishing industries that need to fuel their fleets of boats to bring in their catches? What of our use of plastics and other products made from that same petroleum that we use and dispose without a second thought.
Are we really paying attention?
Are we outraged yet?
More importantly, what are we going to do?
Being aware is good and being moved is better, but without action, they are pretty impotent.
Last night, my wife had the video below show up on her Facebook feed:
The video's ending statement got me thinking. When it comes to our environment; the effects of our dependence on oil and our problems with pollution, we focus on cars (or our use of them) as the cause of the problem. Simply stopping driving is not going to solve the problem. It will not magically plug the well that's shooting oil into the Gulf of Mexico. It won't heal or bring back all the marine and avian life destroyed by the spill. It will help lessen the need for the gas and motor oil and tar for roadways that comes from this oil. What of commercial farming that depends so much on petroleum and its by-products for fertilizers (not to mention to fuel tractors for working the farms and trucks to get the goods to market)? What of fishing industries that need to fuel their fleets of boats to bring in their catches? What of our use of plastics and other products made from that same petroleum that we use and dispose without a second thought.
Are we really paying attention?
Are we outraged yet?
More importantly, what are we going to do?
Being aware is good and being moved is better, but without action, they are pretty impotent.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
(Word) Portraits of bus riders
When I get on the bus, I'll often pull out my computer and write while listening to music, or I'll pull out a book and get lost in it. One morning, though, I didn't feel like pulling out my book. I read a few pages in Boneshaker and put it away (I want to stretch it out!). And I wasn't feeling motivated to write (yet). So I sat back and started just observing the ride. I watched the people board, and some caught my eye. Below is a written "portrait" of those who caught my eye in just a glance, or have stood out over time to me.
There's the man across the aisle from me. He's wearing patent leather square toe oxfords with blue jeans (which have the beginning of some holes above one knee). His shirt is white with cuff links securing the french cuffs. He has on a black velvet dinner jacket, trimmed with satin at the collar. The stubble of his light hair is just slightly longer than the two or three day-old beard on his face. He sits and taps away at his iPhone.
There's the woman who boards at the same stop as me. She frequently wears denim jacket with scarf wrapped multiple times about her neck. She always seems to be wearing a skirt, often with funky stockings and a pair of Mary Janes or flat soled boots. Her hair is moderately long and dark, streaked with grey. It's pulled back and bound with a purple hair band. She sits with her cup of coffee, pulls out her cell phone and checks something, puts it away and sits and looks ahead for the rest of the ride in.
The woman in all black. She is a periodic rider. What I noticed about her first was her black, knee-high, lace up, lug soled, black leather boots. Not many women even try to pull that off. She wears all black: jeans, shirt, jacket and baseball cap. Today, she has a splash of color (indeterminate dark one) in the form of the scarf she is wearing. She carries a black canvas handbag with a Tim Burton-esque character on the flap. It looks like the face of a character from The Nightmare Before Christmas. She has narrow black rimmed glasses and wears black eye and lip makeup. Her lip liner making her face look to be in a permanent frown. It makes her look old, perhaps older than she really is. She walks to the back of the bus, and disappears among the other riders
A man gets on with dreadlocks and goatee. His ears are pierced and he wears a do-rag holding his dreads back. The temple piece of his glasses has kind of a vertical ribbing on it. He's in dark denim work pants, boots and a dark red fleece jacket. I can see a dark stiped scarf inside of his jacket. He carries a messenger bag and a ballistic plastic case. He'd drinking from a small, insulated plastic Starbucks cup with what looks to be a child's design on it. He sits quietly drinking from his cup, looking ahead across the aisle to the south. Is he impressed with the view of Mt. Rainier today?
There's the woman in the high-heels. Every day she wears high-heeled boots (thin heels at that) with either tight-legged pants or a skirt with some sort of funky stockings. She also always wears a long wool coat over top of everything. She's traded out her large yellow handbag for something smaller and of a color I can't identify. Her facial features and long, straight dark hair remind me of an early '80's woman rocker before big hair became the fashion; Joan Jett maybe...or Pat Benetar? She is often running to catch the bus before it pulls away from the stop. She sits in the front of the bus plugged into her iPod, nodding to the music and staring blankly off into space ahead as the driver drives.
A man who loads his bike half way up the hill. He leaves his panniers and trunk on the bike's rack. He is wearing rain gear, despite the clear skies. His nylon pants swish as he walks down the aisle of the bus to his seat with a bulky backpack and carrying his sporty yellow helmet.
There is the business woman who boards in front of Starbucks. She wears a long, black wool coat. The belt is tied rather than bucked. Her hair is a moderately short, casual style. She's wearing ear muffs today with a loose band that won't press down on her hairdo. She has a large black leather bag, as well as a Nieman Marcus canvas bag. Under her arm she carries a folded up newspaper. Once she sits down, she pulls out her paper and starts to read. She doesn't hold it right up in front of her face like many people do on the bus, hiding from everyone else. No, she holds it at a fair distance, as if she were sitting in an easy chair at home.
There is the gentleman who reminds me of a rumpled professor or an attorney who is not in it for the money. He's probably in his late 40's to early 50's. He's a little on the heavy side. He wears cotton casual pants with worn leather shoes. Usually a green fleece jacket. He carries a fairly well worn old Eddie Bauer briefcase. His hair is thinning slightly and he has a mottled gray and brown beard. A couple of months ago, he was writing a comedy act in preparation for some event he was going to. He will often sit and jot things in a notebook, or talk with another passenger during the ride.
There's the man across the aisle from me. He's wearing patent leather square toe oxfords with blue jeans (which have the beginning of some holes above one knee). His shirt is white with cuff links securing the french cuffs. He has on a black velvet dinner jacket, trimmed with satin at the collar. The stubble of his light hair is just slightly longer than the two or three day-old beard on his face. He sits and taps away at his iPhone.
There's the woman who boards at the same stop as me. She frequently wears denim jacket with scarf wrapped multiple times about her neck. She always seems to be wearing a skirt, often with funky stockings and a pair of Mary Janes or flat soled boots. Her hair is moderately long and dark, streaked with grey. It's pulled back and bound with a purple hair band. She sits with her cup of coffee, pulls out her cell phone and checks something, puts it away and sits and looks ahead for the rest of the ride in.
The woman in all black. She is a periodic rider. What I noticed about her first was her black, knee-high, lace up, lug soled, black leather boots. Not many women even try to pull that off. She wears all black: jeans, shirt, jacket and baseball cap. Today, she has a splash of color (indeterminate dark one) in the form of the scarf she is wearing. She carries a black canvas handbag with a Tim Burton-esque character on the flap. It looks like the face of a character from The Nightmare Before Christmas. She has narrow black rimmed glasses and wears black eye and lip makeup. Her lip liner making her face look to be in a permanent frown. It makes her look old, perhaps older than she really is. She walks to the back of the bus, and disappears among the other riders
A man gets on with dreadlocks and goatee. His ears are pierced and he wears a do-rag holding his dreads back. The temple piece of his glasses has kind of a vertical ribbing on it. He's in dark denim work pants, boots and a dark red fleece jacket. I can see a dark stiped scarf inside of his jacket. He carries a messenger bag and a ballistic plastic case. He'd drinking from a small, insulated plastic Starbucks cup with what looks to be a child's design on it. He sits quietly drinking from his cup, looking ahead across the aisle to the south. Is he impressed with the view of Mt. Rainier today?
There's the woman in the high-heels. Every day she wears high-heeled boots (thin heels at that) with either tight-legged pants or a skirt with some sort of funky stockings. She also always wears a long wool coat over top of everything. She's traded out her large yellow handbag for something smaller and of a color I can't identify. Her facial features and long, straight dark hair remind me of an early '80's woman rocker before big hair became the fashion; Joan Jett maybe...or Pat Benetar? She is often running to catch the bus before it pulls away from the stop. She sits in the front of the bus plugged into her iPod, nodding to the music and staring blankly off into space ahead as the driver drives.
A man who loads his bike half way up the hill. He leaves his panniers and trunk on the bike's rack. He is wearing rain gear, despite the clear skies. His nylon pants swish as he walks down the aisle of the bus to his seat with a bulky backpack and carrying his sporty yellow helmet.
There is the business woman who boards in front of Starbucks. She wears a long, black wool coat. The belt is tied rather than bucked. Her hair is a moderately short, casual style. She's wearing ear muffs today with a loose band that won't press down on her hairdo. She has a large black leather bag, as well as a Nieman Marcus canvas bag. Under her arm she carries a folded up newspaper. Once she sits down, she pulls out her paper and starts to read. She doesn't hold it right up in front of her face like many people do on the bus, hiding from everyone else. No, she holds it at a fair distance, as if she were sitting in an easy chair at home.
There is the gentleman who reminds me of a rumpled professor or an attorney who is not in it for the money. He's probably in his late 40's to early 50's. He's a little on the heavy side. He wears cotton casual pants with worn leather shoes. Usually a green fleece jacket. He carries a fairly well worn old Eddie Bauer briefcase. His hair is thinning slightly and he has a mottled gray and brown beard. A couple of months ago, he was writing a comedy act in preparation for some event he was going to. He will often sit and jot things in a notebook, or talk with another passenger during the ride.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Bikes for Books!
Saw this post yesterday on Publicola. The Fremont branch of the Seattle Public Library (sponsored by the Fremont Doric Masonic Lodge #2) is running a contest to get kids to read more. For every three books a child (grades 1 - 3) reads, his or her name is entered in a drawing for a free bike, lock and helmet. The drawing will be held on June 5, with one boy and one girl winning.
I think that this is an awesome encouragement to get kids reading, and what better way to start off the summer than with a new bike!
I think that this is an awesome encouragement to get kids reading, and what better way to start off the summer than with a new bike!
Friday, March 26, 2010
A girl. A bike. A love.
It started out with tears. When I stepped over my red and silver Jamis Aurora the other day and realized that where there used to be over an inch of space between my tender girl parts and the top tube there was now some negative space - enough to hurt. WTF!? Legs don't shrink. Bikes don't grow. Again - WTF?! The next moment I felt like a traitor as the thought of possibly having to get a different bike rushed through my head. I looked at my trusty little fire engine of a bike (she thinks she's a fire engine- really) and out poured the tears. And I'm not a crier. Not usually anyway - but this whole new bike thing - it's doing me in. I get attached to my bikes. Especially the good ones - the ones who have taken me places I didn't know I could go and let me sing my crazy up hill songs to them as we crawled along at a snails pace - never judging me along the way. The Aurora has been that kind of bike. A good bike. But...
I got sick, had some crazy life shit flung at me and in the process gained 35 pounds that have stuck to me like glue no matter what I do and I am limited in what I can do - that illness again. All this happened since I bought the Aurora. And my feet grew. That's where the shrinkage came about, come to find out. My feet flattened out a size to a size and a half worth and down I went to where my bike's top tube no longer plays nice. Add to that that I still can't go longer than about 20 miles without my wrists screaming in protest. The fit just isn't there anymore. I looked at my bike that fateful day last weekend and cried. Mark came out of the store to see me crying when just before I was all "happy go lucky we're running errands by bike happy". I told him about the top tube and my girl parts having a meeting when they shouldn't have. All those plans I had been dreaming up to try and get the handle bars further back towards me and higher to help the wrists - they seemed pointless now. I covered the outside of the handlebars of my bike as if covering a child's ears and mouthed to Mark, "I might have to look for a different bike." Then I cried some more.
What started out as a simple errand run in our own neighborhood turned out to be a day of riding to one bike shop after another around Seattle. This has continued into the week as well. It took me all day and then some to stop waffling and trying to convince myself I could make the Aurora work. And I had tears stinging my eyes more than not throughout the day.
I experienced a wide range of service too. There was the not listening to me at all type service while rattling off lots of terms that might have been meant to impress me with their lofty knowledge, but didn't. My husband is a bike geek. I can handle all the bike terminology and if it goes to far I start threatening to rattle off all the plants animals and minerals in Latin. I'm a nature geek. I can play ball. I'm also not afraid to call someone on this sort of thing and I can be very blunt while doing so. I whipped that particular salesperson into shape rather quickly when I started asking him to explain terms in detail - and he couldn't, so he shut up and did what I asked and stopped arguing with me.
Then there was the incredible service from a couple shops that deserve mention. Our first stop along the rout last weekend was at Elliot Bay Bicycles - home of the Davidson Hand Built Bicycles and a good stock of various other bikes. Bill Davidson was the one to help me and help me he did. I was still in emotional turmoil and rolling back and forth between trying to make the Aurora work and getting a different bike. The first thing he did after I told him my troubles was look at me and ask me, "Where are your gloves?", and in an almost scolding fatherly voice, at that. I looked at him and told him I wasn't cold, in fact I was sweating! He looked at me a moment doing a damn good job at not shaking his head, rolling his eyes or snorting at me. Then he made me follow him and pointed out the gloves he can't live with out. The kind of gloves that help with wrist pain - the kind of gloves I had up to this point ignored because of my tiny little hands and how uncomfortable they are. Not the kind of gloves meant to keep your hands warm, by the way, but Spenco Ironman gloves that actually were comfortable even two sizes too big.
Bill proceeded to give me my options. He wrote down everything I could do with my current bike to make it better in the mean time and even fixed a couple things right then and there to make the rest of that days ride a little easier. He showed me what to look for in a bike for a better fit and had me test a sporty little Bianchi Brava to get a feel for a shorter top tube length and different handlebars and brakes - and oh those brakes - I was in brake heaven! He put my more comfortable seat on the Bianchi for my test ride too. He did all this without belittling me in any way. Take note, bike shop peoples, THAT is service. If ever I have the funds to pour into a custom bike build - Bill Davidson is my guy.
We were off for an organic lunch at the Fremont PCC before I had my second awesome service experience of the day at Free Range Cycles. I've always liked this bike shop and most often when I have gone in to get something or to look at options or just peruse the latest bikes and gear I've been greeted by some rockin' ladies who know their bike stuff. Those ladies must have stuck the guys on bike shop duty that day and were off riding in the glorious weather, no doubt. But the guys were great too. At this shop I tried out a newer and smaller framed version of the Aurora and then for something completely different, I tried a Soma Buena Vista mixte. This is where the service went from good to great. The Soma had a very long stem on it and the guy helping me went and put a shorter one on it for me so I could get a better feel for the fit of the bike. See? Awesome service. The Soma was a fun ride and it helped me finally rule out the kind of handlebars that I was hoping might make the Aurora more comfortable. I knew I wouldn't want to do longer rides with those handle bars it felt all whacked out in my shoulders. They would be great for the sub 15 miler errand and farmers market runs - but not for the long rolling hill countryside rides that I long for more of. Not for me anyway.
I left Free Range with time to hit one more shop and test a couple more bikes before places were closing up for the day and it was time to make our way back home to West Seattle. One evening this last week I picked up Mark from work and headed to yet another shop where I tested a couple more bikes bringing my total test rides to 7 so far. The best fit up to this point was with a Marin Portofino. I'm keeping it in mind but after a lot of soul searching I'm going to spend some time this weekend looking for a more classic style frame that I could customize just the way I want it and give an old bike new life.
As I finish up this post I am still waiting to hear back about a 80's Peugeot mixtie on Craigslist that caught my fancy. Oh the things I've dreamed up for that bike and I don't even know if it is still available or if it will be a good fit. But somewhere out there the universe has the perfect bike waiting for me and a good home for my trusty fire engine "Bike-Bike" Jamis Aurora.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Bicyclists: Leading our "dance" with traffic
Following up yesterday's post on commuting by bike, I thought I'd put this up for you all. Keri at Commute Orlando has put together this great 5 minute video on cycling in traffic. It's a great, positive spin on the topic.
Enjoy!
Bicycling in traffic is a dance you lead from Keri Caffrey on Vimeo.
Hat tip to Seattle Likes Bikes for this one!
Enjoy!
Bicycling in traffic is a dance you lead from Keri Caffrey on Vimeo.
Hat tip to Seattle Likes Bikes for this one!
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Bicycle commuting: Getting Started Riding
Last year, I wrote two posts about getting started commuting by bicycle. The first post looked at it purely from the equipment end of things -- your bike and accessories. The second post looked at the issue more in terms of logistics and practicality. Since then, I've not re-visited the topic of bicycle commuting. With spring around the corner, gas prices creeping past the $3 per gallon mark in Seattle, and the bicycle commuter challenge in Seattle coming up in just a couple of months, it is high time I did.
This post will move from the major planning considerations into actually riding that commute.
First, a note about safety. Reading blogs and news stories (and their comments) online, one common theme is that people feel unsafe riding in traffic. It is true that we mix it up out there with masses of steel weighing many times more than we do on our bikes, but that does not mean it is unsafe. Safe, predictable riding behavior, as well as intelligent route selection helps to reduce the risk a cyclist faces when riding amongst motorists. In 2007, the most recent year in which I could find data, there were 7 cyclist fatalities (reference) in Washington state, as opposed to 567 general traffic deaths, which includes both those in car as well as those not traveling in cars (reference).
Get educated. Find a group that will teach you the ins and outs of riding in traffic. Learn how traffic laws apply to cyclists (take a good deal of time on this, few people, police included, really know this stuff). In Seattle, for instance, the Cascade Bicycle Club offers commuting classes during leading up to and during bike month as a way to help people make the shift to bike commuting. Also in Seattle, Spokespeople meets once a month for a leisurely ride on routes linking various neighborhoods in the city. The goal of these rides is to help riders learn how to move through our streets safely and in a way that allows you to coexist safely with motorists. Look up a local cycling club and see what they offer in the way of training or pointers. Very often clubs will have rides geared for new cyclists which will focus on riding the roads, mixed in with the car traffic.
Use smart route planning. Chances are, the route you take to get to work, whether you drive or bus, is not the best route to bike. In fact, in some places, it may be illegal.
- Look to resources that are available through your city or county transportation departments. They often provide cycling route maps.
- Use online resources such as MapMyRide or discussion forums from local bike groups to find routes that others have scouted that take you to work. Google has just added a bike layer to their popular Google Maps service. This latest addition, announced yesterday, has the bike blogging community abuzz with excitement (seriously, I've seen no less than a dozen different posts about it in my news reader since Tuesday night!).
- Look for bike paths, multi-use paths or bike lanes that take you where you need to go.
- Look for parallel side streets along your usual route that provide lower speed or traffic-calmed roadways. In many areas, just one or two blocks off of high-traffic arterial streets there are streets with lower speed limits and lower traffic counts. These streets can be much more of a joy to ride than the arterials. In fact, some communities are creating "Bike Boulevards" out of these roadways to encourage safer cycling and walking.
Now, pick an enjoyable route, dust off your bike, and take a ride. When you're ready, tackle that ride to work!
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