Which brings me to my commute up to the CrossfitRoots up at the top end of Pearl. I had this long post mapped out in my head, I was going to touch on that it is up hill from where I live, some bike path, some road, the heat and how tired I am after the work out on my ride home. And then I found that article about the single speed scene in San Antonio and decided to zip it. I mean if those peeps can get out there in that heat, with those enormous F-350s and enjoy themselves then my 15 minute cruise up to the end of town is easy bliss.

But I did take some interesting photos with my new app.

Uphill but who's complaining

A little heat never hurt anyone

Here’s a different story line -  why doesn’t said reporter try commuting from their home to work for a day and see what it actually entails to get around using public transit or cycling. Or encourage their local officials to ride to work a day and report on it, blog on it, whatever.

On another but related note San Antonio, Texas is developing a master bike plan to connect the different cycling networks. It’s from 2004 and I am a little uncertain of the status of the program.  But the program called San Antonio Bikes was named the 2010 Downtown Alliance “Best Public Program Work in Progress”. Of course, it’s a bit like naming your favorite only sibling your favorite sibling. Nevertheless, This is HUGE! I think this type of program demonstrates a real shift. Having grown up in San Antonio, I know with some certainty that the perception was you only rode a bike if you were too poor to drive a car.

And here’s where our intrepid reporter could give us some actual feedback on how well this is all working by riding their bike to work, to the grocery, bank anywhere get some feet on the street perspective. I remember trying to cycle to work in SA and it was a bit like a triathlon event or at least interval training, with some mountain biking thrown in for good measure and to keep me looking my best for work.  But that was before such a comprehensive plan to encourage cycling in the city. There’s a story here and it isn’t the usual one but it is one that would give feedback to people thinking about commuting by bike, city planners and people already commuting.  Hmmm…maybe I should write it.

It’s a quiet Sunday and I was trawling around looking at different sites and a couple that combine two of my favorite topics – cycling & photography  -  really caught my eye.

Bill Cunningham New York – who is an 80 year old photographer for the  Style section of The New York Times: “On The Street,”, which is inspiring in and of itself but he also gets around only by bike. As he rides around he takes pictures of events, trends and the “social whirl”.  I don’t know where the movie will be shown. I would be surprised if it made it out here to Boulder, Colorado but I guess there is always Netflix. I think his site is right – the results of his work are “far from simple picture taking — it is cultural anthropology.”  Aside from walking the streets of a city, I can’t imagine getting to know your community any better than by bike. I can’t imagine riding around NYC at 80 but I’m glad Bill is still able to do it.

The other site is a KickStarterProject and is a donation site for
Bicycle Portraits – everyday South Africans and their bicycles. A photographic book. I know, I know, everyone is looking for a hand-out but if you are willing to buy a cycling mag or your favorite cyclist’s photograph, then you can spare a buck for this book.  Here is the project site for Bicycle Portraits and will give you an idea of the tone and subject matter. What I love about the book are the stories of the different people they’ve included in the book. No matter the age of their bike, its condition or how long they have been riding – these people love their bikes. Their stories are fun, inspiring and have reminded me how wonderful it is to ride. I like what these guys are doing, I have no idea if they will be successful but their courage to try something is infectious!

Another thing to note is that if you pledge but they don’t hit their target for the project, your card is not charged.

I don’t know why this happens but it seems most times if there is a discussion around providing more bike lanes or encouraging (by law) drivers to give cyclist 3ft on the road the argument devolves into an us vs them. I was reading an article in HuffPost (I know, I know not the most balanced site):

Obama Bicycle Policy Wins Love From Cyclists, Scorn From Trucking Industry

The article explains how a new policy will promote other forms of transportation – give them a voice and no longer favor motorized vehicles.  According to the article some of the responses to this new way of looking at our transportation woes is “dumb”, “nonsensical” and that Transportation Secretary LaHood “must be on drugs”.  That’s the response. Cars, bikes, buses, walking all deserve equal support as legitimate means of moving around and the response is that’s “dumb”. They don’t say why they think it’s dumb, it just is. And this is how and why our arguments turn into nothing more than two rabid terriers fighting over a scrap of meat.

I love to ride my bike into town for work, errands, etc. but sometimes I need to drive. I can’t help but think making it easier for me to do either would help relieve congestion and improve overall transportation for everyone. There is a limited amount of money and priorities must be set but there has to be a way of promoting a benefit that doesn’t turn into an us vs. them when it comes to transportation discussions.

“Most people believe the alternative to cars is better transit – in truth, it’s better neighborhoods. That is the key to making the car “an accessory of life rather than its central organizing principle.”

And I thought, “yes, that’s it”. The only way to better incorporate different ways of getting around is to build communities that are designed for that type of transit. Currently, we design our communities (suburbs, bedroom communities) around the premise that people will use their cars to get around: to get to the grocery store, drop their kids off at school, etc. Our newer communities are not designed in scale or ease to for pedestrians and, in some ways, we are trying to retrofit them for cyclist and pedestrians and therein lies the rub. We still need to focus our attention on making it easier for people to get around by bike or walking or bus. But wouldn’t it be so much easier to build communities to support that type of mobility?

There’s a new condo development out where I live, just off of HWY 36 near Broomfield, Colorado. It’s called the Townes at Vantage Point and it’s no more a town than Boulder is a big city and, to me, it represent the epitome of building without community. Currently, there’s nothing out there but these enormous condo blocks. Granted the mall is across the highway but you couldn’t get there walking or cycling. You would need to drive and you would need to crawl over 36 to get to it.  Promoting cycling is important, promoting better community development is critical.

but rather something like this:

One of the other guys interviewed made an interesting point, tho’. He said the design of the bike had to counter the design instruments of the car, it (the bicycle) had to be almost iconic.  I’m not entirely certain I understood what he meant by countering the car design but I understood the need for iconic bike designs. Look at the interest in the North American Hand Made Bicycle show – there’s something about both the visual and tactical appeal of riding a bike that has been well-designed and well-made. I think that’s why there is so much interest in “Tweed Runs“: they’re a stylish, classic way of  riding comparable to driving gloves, shoes in an open Aston Martin.

Here’s the video:

• three bottles of wine (I’m most impressed with this one)
• a butternut squash and some apples
• a bike lock, a swiss-made water bottle, and gloves
• bike lock and a couple of books

My brother took me through Times Square, which has been made pedestrian-only in some areas. I thought, at the time, what a great, progressive idea but after seeing the video below think that perhaps it is an attempt to redress an imbalance. What we once thought of as the ultimate in convenience and progress has had a number of unintended consequences. This video highlights some of those, I especially love the one of the woman wearing a beret, who has her little dog comfortably arranged in basket in the front of her bike. What I didn’t know was how much we changed our public spaces: sidewalks, parks, etc to accommodate the car. If we could change back them to adapt to a new mode of traveling, there is no reason we cannot adapt again and perhaps even improve things, as well.

Picture source.

But last night, we did it. We got back on the bikes and headed downtown for nachos and beer and at one of our fave places – mountain sun. The ride wasn’t bad but I did not hold to my cold-weather maxim of riding up with what you know will keep you warm for the ride home. Instead I wore what was marginally warm on a Spring day and was staggeringly cold on the way home, so cold I really thought I wouldn’t be able to press hard enough through my mittens to apply the brakes. Not even the Anapurna Amber provided enough internal heating to get me home.

But the on the whole, it was a good ride and you forget how easy and fun it is to ride down to Pearl St. in Boulder.