Be wary, there is a disturbance in the Force

I'm a cyclist. And not just any cyclist, I'm a roadie. What I do is dangerous. I know the risks of riding and I accept them every single time I swing my leg over the bike and clip in. There are potholes, gravel slicks, gutters filled with sand and glass... there are automobile drivers who aren't looking for someone on two wheels. Like most cyclists who've ridden for years, I've had my share of close calls.

I've swerved through snow, lost control going through sand, been buzzed by horn-honking teenagers, and nearly shoved into raised curbs by SUVs. But, I've never really worried about being attacked, mugged, or otherwise harmed intentionally. Perhaps I should re-think that after what happened to a young bike shop employee a few days ago. Woman Knocked Off Bike, Assaulted On Greenway

It isn't enough that we have to worry about all of the above, but we've got to worry about jerks who want to jack our stuff and hurt us, too?! So, for all of us who commute on two wheels, here are the things I do to keep myself as safe as possible:

Ride with presence. To ride in an urban setting, on the roads and on the trail, you have to have confidence. I don't mean ride stupid, but ride like you own the road, like you belong. Others will sense that confidence, even through a car's windscreen.
Be aware of your surroundings. I ride with lights in the mornings and evenings. I keep my head on a swivel at all times when I ride in or near traffic. Stay away from the iPod if you're riding in the city. If you know what's going on around you, you are better prepared to act.
Safety in light and numbers. As much as possible, ride while it's light out and ride with other people. The old saying is true, there really is safety in numbers.
Consider hornet spray. Mace isn't legal to carry in Minnesota, but hornet spray is. And man, is that stuff nasty to get sprayed in the face with.

Until next time, ride long and keep the rubber-side down.

Darwin-ism In Action

I find this rather unsettling.
Cat 6, Competitive Commuting Turns Bike Rides into Races
I truly hope this author had nothing else to write about that day, because commuting isn't a race and if you turn it into one, you're being moronic. Bike lanes and multi-use bike paths are meant for efficient, predictable riding; not for shouldering past a riding buddy to win a sprint or pulling a dick-move and not letting a quicker rider pass. Racing while commuting is like high school kids drag-racing: It just isn't a good idea.

Now, if you want to see if you can beat your best previous time commuting to work, knock yourself out, but please don't be a jerk when others try to pass you, okay? I ride my bike for fun, so forgive me if I don't want to spend my ride playing a stupid game of leap-frog/chicken with a guy tucked into his tri-bars (I'm sorry, but it's always tri-bars) who doesn't want me to pass him on my blue bicycle.

BikeSnobNYC: BSNYC Friday... Nice to know I'm not the only one who thinks that this racing while commuting is akin to playground antics and "which one is bigger".
It's Not A Race: The Unspoken Game This is a site dedicated to the ridiculousness that is the Unspoken Game, shhh!

Haters gonna hate, as the saying goes. I say, póg mo thóin! Thank you.

Until next time, ride long and keep the rubber-side down.

Bike Paths = Perplexing Conundrum?

As a person who studied recreation and resource management in college, I'm quite interested in the problem(s) voiced in this article:
Grist: We Need Real Bike Paths for Real Bike Transportation

This is a problem that has challenged recreation professionals for as long as the "multi-use path" has been around. How do we accommodate everyone and their respective preferred uses? How do we handle the resource when problems, such as crashes with injuries, occur? It's a hard set of questions to answer and one that planners, lawmakers, and users will have to deal with a lot more as traffic on these paths increases past the trails intended capacity.

And you thought recreation planners and other professionals got to run around outside and play all day. Nope, they make sure you have the spaces you run around on all day.

Until next time, ride long and keep the rubber-side down.

We're Number One!

Star Tribune: When it comes to two wheels, we're Number One
Flabergasted, that's a good word to decribe me. My dad sent me the article and I ended up coughing on my morning cup of tea. Bicycling Magazine has ranked Minneapolis, Minnesota as the most bike-friendly city in the United States for 2010.

I know Minneapolis has quite a lot of bike trails and of course, our bike highways The Greenway and the Ceder Lake Trail, but we beat out Portland?

UPDATED 4/12/10:
After reading Steve Friedman's article, I'm still a bit at a loss as to what the big deal is about Minneapolis. Yes, a lot of urban commuters ride through the winter here. We've got some dedicated bike lanes downtown, and a veritable network of bike trails around the city and it's suburbs. Perhaps because I grew up with all of this in my backyard, I find it ordinary, expected even, not remarkable. I'm used to riding on the roads around Lake Minnetonka, Lake Calhoun, and Lake Harriet in the summertime. Quite a few roads around the Twin Cities area have wide shoulders that are kept in good condition and swept clean of sand in the spring, perfect for riding.

Maybe, as Mr. Friedman notes, the remarkable thing about Minneapolis is that those of us who live and work here don't always see how remarkable our bike culture is. To us, this is ordinary. This town takes all types of bikers, most riders are happy to see so many other people on two wheels that the type of bike doesn't matter. (Except for that guy who rides in a Speedo; dude, seriously?) Few people are pretentious about riding here, I've found; and the one's that are don't last too long. Or just they hang around with other pretintious riders, and thus, fall off my radar.

I guess, all in all, we've got a good thing going here in the MiniApple.

Until next time, ride long and keep the rubber-side down.

Dirty Jobs: Mountain Bike Trail Builder

Mountain bikers have had a bad rap over the years. I'm pretty sure the reason is because back when mountain biking was first becoming popular in the late 80's and early 90's, very few people were maintaining trails for bikers to ride on. Also, any place that they did ride tended to get trashed quickly and not cleaned up.

These days, mountain bikers are some of the most active trail builders, maintainers, and volunteers in Minnesota. Today was National Trails Day and I got to spend the morning helping build and clear trails in Saint Paul with 84 other volunteers. It was cold, wet, muddy, and a heck of a good time.

Not that we were complaining about the rain. It has been really dry in Minnesota this spring. To the point where if you hadn't been running the sprinklers, your lawn looked like late July. Besides, we had to wear pants and boots to protect ourselves from the tools and terrain, so the cooler temperatures were a bonus. The rain also kept the dust down.

A good portion of the trail was already cut, to a certain extent. Our job was to cut the trail to roughly three feet wide, grade it to a maximum of about 10 degrees, descard any rocks, roots, or other organic matter that could make the trail hazardous, and take care of any low-hanging branches.

I'd say it was a morning well spent.

There is still a lot of work to be done to finish this trail and maintain it. But from the sound of our crew leaders, they were quite happy with the work. For more information about mountain biking, trail crews, and volunteering, visit International Mountain Bicycling Association.

Until next time, ride long and keep the rubber-side down.