Bay State Cycluters

Do the math

2011-03-19T14:44:00.000-07:00

While it’s readily assumed that cycluting saves money, it’s nice to reflect, now and then, on exactly how much money we’re talking about when commuting to work by bike rather than by car. For starters, I used the MASSrides commuting calculator at http://www.commute.com/commuters/calculator to find out how much my typical commute would cost in a car. If I work an average of 20 days per month – and I do – it would cost me $4,417.80 per year to drive to work in my 2003 Honda Civic EX. So, that’s about how much I save by biking to work every day, year-round. Add to that, however, the fact that I save $70/year on my car insurance because of a low-mileage discount of 12 percent. And who knows what I save in medical expenses by staying in shape on my bike on a regular basis? Anyway, it’s safe to say I save at least $4,500 a year by cycluting, instead of taking my car. Multiply that by the five years I’ve been doing the same 14-mile round trip to work and I’ve saved more than $20,000 since I started that job. What could I do with that kind of money? Get this: I could buy a brand new 2011 Honda Civic EX. Honestly, that would be just about the last thing I’d do. Instead, I’m going to use my 2011 year’s worth of savings to take a nine-day, guided expedition to Ecuador next February. Cost: $4,500. That includes air fare, lodging, meals, days trips, guide … the whole shebang. That may not sound like a big deal to some of my cycluting sidekicks who make six figures in the technology sector, but I make $45,000 a year (gross pay) at a Senior Center. Simple math: I give myself a 10 percent raise by cycluting. OK, that’s enough calculating to remind me what my response could be when someone challenges me by saying, “Give me one good reason why you’d bike to work every day of the year.”

Color me not surprised

2011-03-13T18:11:00.000-07:00

News item: Boston ranks No. 8 on the list of top 10 traffic-congested cities in the country. “The average commute during worst driving hours is 33 percent longer on Friday at 5:30 p.m. Boston is at its worst on I-93 between Exit 5 and Exit 15. This 10.4-mile stretch of road usually takes 10 minutes to complete with no traffic, but can take 29 minutes during rush hour and even up to 38 minutes Wednesday mornings. Another study finding: Rush hour is no longer rush hour. It's nearly 24/7. Those are among the conclusions of a study by INRIX, a Seattle-based provider of traffic and navigation services.” – boston.com Not surprised, right? On the other hand, what does surprise me is that alternative means of transportation are largely dismissed as viable, either for commuters who continue to drive cars, or for legislators who apportion tax revenue to road projects that encourage people to drive them more and more. It’s like voluntarily sticking needles in our eyes while complaining about the pain. Ever wonder what amazing projects to boost bicycling could be done with even half the money spent on road construction? I fantasize about it frequently. How elevated bikeways along highway routes and main city streets? One of my favorite dreams became real, albeit temporarily, when I participated in the Hub on Wheels bike ride for the first time, last year. On the first few miles of the ride, bikers pedaled without a care in the world along Storrow Drive, which was closed to motor vehicles. That’s right. Not a car or truck in sight. I was euphoric, cranking along on my bicycle along thousands of other proud pedal people. That’s the kind of congestion for which Boston and its suburbs should be gaining national headlines. For now, I’ll have to settle for my daily 6.5-mile Beverly-to-Salem cyclute, during which I routinely pass more cars than pass me. No surprise there, either.

Finds in the gutter

2011-03-04T19:04:00.000-08:00

Yes, Old Man Winter has given us a sound thrashing this year, but his days are numbered ... mercifully. The deep snow that once swallowed my legs whole, during attempts to walk through the back yard, is grudgingly losing its bite. For bicycle commuters who have stubbornly pedaled their way through winter, the melting of snow and ice is widening the roadways and making our lives much safer. Depending on the daily course of the sun, I've even noticed long stretches of curbing that have become bared. Sadly, bikers will notice, curbing and pavement aren't the only things being revealed with the slow onset of warmer weather. Simply stated, the roadway gutters are littered with a continuous array of snack wrappers, paper cups, smashed glass, building materials, cardboard, plastics, clothing, footwear and used condoms. Did people think they could litter with impunity because the next anticipated snowfall would cover all their environmental sins? Did they think, perhaps, their litter would somehow disappear by the time the snow melted? Did the sheer wildness of the winter stir their deepest anarchistic inclinations, allowing them to think, "Who the hell cares?" as they chucked an empty six-pack of beer bottles out the car window and into a snow bank? I don't know the answer to those questions, but I know that until street sweepers swing into action this spring, my commute to work is going to be like biking along a long strip of landfill.

Notice your shadows

2011-02-27T10:14:00.000-08:00

News item:

"A 74-year-old bicyclist was killed yesterday morning in a collision with a car near the corner of Tremont and Arlington streets in Boston, according to authorities. Police did not release the man’s name yesterday nor the cause of the crash, which happened at 8:10 a.m. in busy South End traffic. But it occurred at a time when solar glare can cause problems for drivers turning east on Herald Street. The white sedan involved in the crash was facing that direction." That story recently re-inspired me to start posting to this blog again, as much as possible. Truth is, I retired from a 16-year career in journalism, several years ago, because I felt I'd used up every word in my head. After starting this blog, I realized I wasn't ready to resume writing for this, or any other reason. Thoughts still fill my mind when biking, though, so I'm going to share them here, as often as I can imagine. Even before seeing that news item, above, I'd been thinking about the dangers of "solar glare," and entertained myself, on a recent ride to work, but composing this ditty:

When biking in sun, please be reminded

Your shadow will point to the drivers most blinded.

When shadows are longer you're harder to see

The shorter your shadow the safer you'll be.

It’s a jungle out there

2009-01-15T18:57:00.000-08:00

My knobby bicycle tires purr softly as they claw the carpet of freshly plowed snow on my way to work. I’m a pussycat with pedals in the midst of ferocious beasts that grumble ominously at my back when the narrowness of the road doesn’t allow them to pass at will. Given the opportunity to barge by, they growl loudly with their internal-combustion lungs and spew foul odors at me, clearly showing their disgust that they had to share the road with me for as much as a heartbeat and, undoubtedly, determined to intimidate me from ever impeding their progress again. That’s more than just flowery prose. It’s science. Recent research has shown that “ If a Toyota Prius just looks too friendly for your tastes, you’re not alone. People readily see faces and traits in cars, and a new study suggests that they prefer cars to appear dominant, masculine and angry.” In other words, people want to be behind the wheel of a vehicle that helps them feel like they have a chance at winning in the survival-of-the-fittest drama that plays out among herds of stampeding cars and trucks every day. People want to be in cars that say, “Watch out or I’m going to kill you and eat you.” Now that I understand that, of course, I’ll pretend to be impressed and act scared when an angry-looking car pulls up behind me. I mean really, f that’s what motorists need to feel good about themselves, I’m happy to indulge them. Poor, sweet babies.

Chilled grease

2008-12-04T19:06:00.000-08:00

Not to be confused with grilled cheese, chilled grease is the topic of this blog entry. Feel free to anticipate a less-than-inspiring read here, but I’m presenting a semi-scientific inquiry in an attempt to explain why I find bicycle-pedaling more strenuous in cold weather than in warm weather. My hypothesis (harrumph) is that when grease, or some other lubricants used on mechanical parts, are subject to changes in temperature. I think they must stiffen up, even if ever-so-slightly, in cold conditions and become more fluid in summer-like conditions. (Gee, that’s like cheese, isn’t it?) Thus, when it stiffens up, say, in my crank, the pedaling becomes more difficult than when it’s warm. The higher the quality of the lubricant, I assume, the more resistant it would be to thickening and thinning due to the temperature. I believe that’s called “viscosity,” or whatever. The only other explanation I can come up with for the increased difficulty I find in pedaling when it’s cold outside is that my muscles, not my bike lubricants, stiffen in cold weather and loosen up when it’s warm. Maybe it’s both. In any event, as with any scientific hypothesis, I’m open for rebuttal ... which is a nice way of saying “Feel free to tell me I have no idea what the h*ll I’m talking about.” You’re even welcome to toss in a “... you, butthead,” or any other epithet of your choice. As far as grilled cheese, however, you’ll never convince me those sandwiches are not better with bacon and tomato. Now I'm getting hungry. Class dismissed.

Ghidorah revisited

2008-12-03T14:35:00.000-08:00

You can’t believe everything you hear on the news, but a few weeks ago WBZ 1030-AM radio reported that CEOs from the “Big Three” automakers showed up in Washington, D.C., to make their plea for bailout bucks, and that they hadn’t gained much sympathy from lawmakers because they’d each used private jets to make the trip. After having been publically scolded for that extravagance by one Congressman, the trio made another trip to the nation’s capitol earlier this week. This time, it was reported, they each arrived after having made the 520-mile Detroit-to-D.C. trip in hybrid cars. I’m no Congressman, but I’m still not impressed. I’d have been mildly impressed if they’d carpooled, but here’s what my dream scenario would have been: I wish the three CEOs (who I’ve come to refer to collectively as “Ghidorah,” an allusion to the 1964 Japanese film about a three-headed monster by that name) had bicycled to Washington, D.C. And I wish their most recent restructuring plan, to justify a bailout with taxpayer dollars, included a complete retooling of their assembly lines to start making nothing but bicycles, while admitting that cars powered by internal-combustion engines are a blight on the planet. Then I’d like to see any leftover bailout bucks given to automobile owners in the form of coupons to redeem for two bicycles for every car they turn in. OK, maybe I’m getting a little carried away here ... but I still like the idea of the 520-mile bike ride. In the meantime, I wonder if Congress would bail out America’s Big Three bike-makers -- Trek, Cannondale and Specialized -- if they face bankruptcy someday.

Fear factor

2008-11-17T19:05:00.000-08:00

This is not going to be the most upbeat and encouraging entry I’ve ever made here. Last weekend, I had what could be called a philosophical discussion about fear with my girlfriend. It started with a spot on what I consider the only must-see TV show on my list – “Sunday Morning.” It was about businesses that are selling the ultimate in thrill rides – launches into orbit around the Earth for about a quarter-million bucks. If I started saving every penny I make, lived in a refrigerator box under a Mass. Pike overpass and start eating nothing but insects and wild berries, it would still take me until 2017 before I could afford a ticket. I mentioned, to my sweetie, that even if I did have that kind of money, I still have the sight of the 1986 Challenger tragedy burned in my memory, which turned our topic of conversation to fear and risk. I mentioned how she takes a pretty big risk when she zips down Route 95 on her morning commute in her Mini every day. She countered that I’m not exactly enhancing my safety by cycluting, especially during the winter. Good point. Truth is, fear occasionally clutches my throat while I’m biking to work. For no apparent reason, the thought of getting rear-ended by a car sneaks into consciousness and I start playing a video clip of the accident in my head. At the moment of imagined impact, my real body tenses, I put a death grip on my handlebars, and I go breathless for a moment. Ultimately, it’s the risk I’ve chosen to take, counting the joy of biking as worth the possiblility of becoming mangled in an accident by an octogenarian who had a mini-stroke behind the wheel, a teenager who was text messaging, or someone “only had a few” and misjudged his sobriety. Even as I type this, planted safely in an office chair, I’m giving myself chills. Be safe, fellow cycluters, and be vigilant.

Getting tire-d

2008-10-24T15:25:00.000-07:00

With hints of snow and ice sneaking into the Massachusetts weather forecasts, many cycluters are about to put their bikes in hibernation for the next four or five months. They’ll try to compute the amount of money they saved by not driving to work, ponder the amount of pollutants not released into the air and, of course, the consider the health benefits accrued. They should be congratulated for their dedication to warm-weather cycluting, and have the right to make their cold-weather commutes more comfortably.

Some other cycluters, blessed with more obsessive tendencies or less sanity, are bracing themselves for biking straight through the winter. Tires are likely to be a cycluter’s primary concern when Old Man Winter fixes his icy stare on New England. I don’t claim to have all the answers on what tires to use, but I can assure you that road bike tires are worthless.

I use a mountain bike with wide tires that have “aggressive” treads, but a new cycluter friend of mine pointed me to a Web site that explains how to put studs in your own tires (http://www.silentsports.net/stud_your_own_bike_tires.html). If that seems like too much work, you can always plunk down $150-200 for a pair of Nokian studded tires.

In any event, newly recruited winter warriors should beware the following: 1) Thick ribbons of snow left by plows that have come out of side streets. Usually I can just accelerate through them and keep my balance, but they're a challenge; 2) Deep slush, which is like pedaling in a mixture of sand and Crisco; 3) Thin coatings of snow concealing patches of ice; 4) Black ice.

And don’t forget to keep an ear and eye out for plows coming up behind you when the snow falls. When one's coming, I quickly dismount and launch my bike and myself into a snow bank until it passes. Reality check: Don't mess with plows. Most drivers just don't care.

Getting horn-y?

2008-10-22T16:23:00.000-07:00

That headline isn’t entirely misleading, nor was it used as a tawdry way of grabbing your attention. (Well, maybe it was a little tawdry.) In any event, in Massachusetts, the law governing bicycle use includes a lines that require us cycluters to get horny, in a manner of speaking. It reads thusly:

Massachusetts General Law, Chapter 85, Section 11B.2
"The operator of a bicycle shall give an audible warning, whenever necessary, to insure safe operation of the bicycle; however, the use of a siren or whistle is prohibited."

When I was a kid, I used to have one of those clown horns mounted on my handlebars. Squeeze the rubber bulb and you got the sound of a pre-adolescent goose. I stopped using it, though, about the same time I stopped hanging plastic streamers from my handlebar grips and clothespinning playing cards to my rear wheel frame to make fake engine noises as they slapped against my spokes. (With all due respect to Harpo Marx, of course.)

Anyway, I’d love to hook up a siren or hang a whistle between my lips but those are, apparently, illegal in the Bay State. Without some kind of other device to make noise, we’re on our own to “get horny” by making whatever “audible warning” we need to “insure safe operation.”

I suppose that includes “HEY, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?” which is my audible warning of choice to inattentive motorists, lately. According to the law, it appears there’s no restriction on language, so feel free to insert your favorite epithet (at your own risk) in the blank after “HEY, _____.”

OK, OK ... I suppose I shouldn't be using valuable blog space to encourage rudeness. We cycluters, after all, shouldn't stoop to the level of motorists who are emboldened to engage in roadrageous behavior by wrapping themselves in a ton or two of metallic armor.

But if a motorist yells something back at you after you've yelled the pleasantry of your choice to insure your safety, just explain that you’re required by law to make an audible warning and pedal merrily on your way.

Or you could get a clown horn.

Hey buddy, got a light?

2008-10-02T18:43:00.000-07:00

In another month, Daylight Saving Time goes bye-bye, a departure I find more difficult to deal with every fall. Fortunately, our esteemed legislators in Congress in their infinite wisdom (yes, I’m being facetious) saw fit to delay autumn’s turning back of clocks until November 2 this year. I’ll take it. That gives me a little longer before I have to start keeping my headlight battery charging every night. In this part of the world, it won’t be long before it starts getting dark right after lunch. Or so it seems. OK, that’s an exaggeration, but there are weeks upon weeks during the winter when we’re all leaving work in the dark. Some cycluters I know use the end of DST to mark the end of their cycluting days for the year. I’m more stubborn than that, of course, so I’ll be firing up the headlight, putting new batteries in the taillight and making my way through the dark. So, I’m open to suggestion about lights. I’ve had very good luck with the Turbocat line of headlights. I have a battery pack that tucks right into my water bottle holder and connects to a halogen lamp strapped on my handlebars with Velcro. There’s no way an oncoming car won’t see me. I’ve thought about adding a light to my helmet, just for added visibility, but I’m not sure I want to go with the coal-miner look. Your turn. Have any suggestions or recommendations for seeing and being seen once we have to pedal hope in the pitch-black?

Rocky relationship

2008-09-30T17:53:00.000-07:00

I began this blog entry thinking I'd come up with a pretty clever angle on my perspective on cars. My starting point was going to be the familiar phrase, "Americans' love affair with the automobile."

To accurately refer to the origin of that phrase, which I thought was from a 1960s TV commercial, I Google'd it and discovered that my angle was not original.

Katharine Alvord and Stephanie Mills recently wrote a book entitled "Divorce Your Car!: Ending the Love Affair with the Automobile," which I now intend to purchase as soon as I can bike down to the local book store. For now, however, let me share my own reasons for the divorce before I can be accused of plagiarism.

First, if you're married to your car, you've probably realized he has a serious drinking problem -- gas, oil, transmission fluid, brake fluid, anti-freeze -- and admit it, you're an enabler. Doesn't it seem like every time you turn around, he's ordering a drink? As a cycluter, I smell it on his breath every day. It's so bad it makes my eyes water.

And talk about high-maintenance! Isn't he becoming more and more demanding and difficult to support as the relationship goes on? How much money are you spending on him every year? Add it up. (Don't forget that insurance policy you have on him.) He's not exactly a cheap date, is he?

Sure, maybe he holds you tight and keeps you warm on cold winter mornings, but that's only if he wakes up when you turn the key. Sure, he takes you where you want to go, but you get lazier and more dependent on him all the time all the time. He needs you to take care of him, and you need him to take care of you. Can you say "co-dependence?"

Think about it. Should this relationship be saved?

The search for bicycle-friendly cities

2008-09-29T14:01:00.000-07:00

Bicycle-friendly cities in New England. Just about any dedicated cycluter knows that term is as oxymoronic as “dry wine,” “controlled chaos” and my personal favorite, “Congressional ethics.”

I really can’t blame city administrations in my part of the country for not doing more to accommodate bicycles. I’ve been told many roads in New England started as cow paths back in the days before Henry Ford invented his nightmare on wheels. Many New England downtowns, I think, are so cramped for space on their narrow byways, it’s impossible to imagine squeezing in bike lanes. Most of my cyclute takes me through Salem, Mass., where there’s barely enough pavement to fit the cars of its citizens, much less those of the hundreds of thousands of tourists who visit every year.

I recently fantasized about the possibility of constructing elevated bikeways or underground bikeways but, well ... I’m not going to hold my breath waiting for that to happen. So my thoughts turn to relocating in a city where bicyclists enjoy easy passage and maximum safety. In America, Portland, Ore., comes to mind. Internationally, Amsterdam, Holland, seems to be the place to go. Since I’ve never been to either one, can somebody vouch for their reputations as bicycle-friendly cities?

Or can anyone nominate any other cities, foreign or domestic, where bicyclists can feel more at home than in New England? I’d be easily convinced to rent a truck, pack my bags and leave New England behind.

A new generation of cycluters

2008-09-26T06:25:00.000-07:00

Here's my pal Maureen Bagge Fowler, the environmental engineer at Framingham State College, talking about cycluting to students. The [gently used] Cannon bike at right was raffled off during the second annual Bike Extravaganza.

Our goal was to promote biking to the campus, located in Framingham, Mass. About 500 to 700 students, staff and faculty live less than 10 miles away and could easily bike to campus.

Maureen has been busy ordering bike racks and finding indoor storage for bikes on campus. Anyone can use the showers at the campus health facility, so that removes another barrier.

Another barrier is a lack of a bike. To remedy that, I collected 48 pre-owned bicycles from friends, associates, and through the help of the media. Doug Shepard, a dedicated cycluter who goes 27 miles each way to work regularly, contributed 13 of those bikes. Doug collected abandoned and neglected bikes and improved them.

Frank's Spoke 'N' Wheel [http://mysite.verizon.net/bizoesyh/westboro.html] provided expertise to fix up the gaggle of bikes as well as displayed a new commuter bike.

We sold all 48 bikes, some of which were from the the late 1960s and 1970s. Students preferred the odd colors the best, as well as the classic 3-speeds. The bikes that got the most bidding activity in our live auction had the best paint jobs- whether it was a 1980s bright yellow-ducky 10-speed or a modern mountain bike painted in purple and blue.

We made a lot of new bike owners. Maureen reports, "The bike racks are full." Our goal is to create a bike culture at Framingham State College, one cycluter at a time. The more people who do it, the more normal it is. I saw some people on bikes that day who hadn't ridden in 30 years. I hope they keep it up.

The final barrier is MENTAL. Most people just don't think about biking. They drive one-quarter of a mile to work, or drive a mile to a remote parking lot and wait for a shuttle to take them a mile to campus. This is nonsensical!

The Bike Extravaganza got them thinking and acting differently. Hopefully, the students will take their new habits with them when they graduate.

BTW- the beautiful Cannon moutain bike that was raffled off came from a local police department shed. It had been abandoned.

--not your typical cycluter

Cycle + Commuter = Cycluter

2008-09-23T07:09:00.000-07:00

Shakespeare was fond of inventing words. According to a posting by library weekly [http://shakespeare.about.com/library/weekly/aa042400a.htm] Shakespeare "invented over 1700 of our common words by changing nouns into verbs, changing verbs into adjectives, connecting words never before used together, adding prefixes and suffixes, and devising words wholly original."

Some of those words include compromise, dwindle and frugal, to name a few.

Following in Shakespeare's footsteps, Bill Wooley, aka Wordsmith 1953, a former journalist and devoted bike commuter, and regular contributor to Bay State Cycluters, invented the term "cycluter" to condense and elevate the term "bicycle commuter."

To ensure adoption of a new word, people and the media must start using it. Cycluter rolls off your tongue. Cycluter must be seen online and in print, and heard to be adopted. One person , one group, one website can fuel a movement.

Cycluting is rolling on its way. A journalist, Nan Shnitzler, wrote a story about bike commuting and editors headlined it with her recommendation, "They Call It Cycluting."
http://www.wickedlocal.com/bolton/news/lifestyle/x1213268204/They-call-it-cycluting

The MetroWest/495 TMA website is using cycluting to describe bike commuting.

Cycluter. You heard it here first. Now spread the word.

--Not your typical cycluter

See the Wheel Boston by Bike -- Urban AdvenTours

2008-09-19T09:14:00.000-07:00

Boston has the Duck Tours, Freedom Trail Tours and Trolley Tours. Now it has Urban AdvenTOURS -- a bike touring company.

Thanks to a sister TMA [transportation management association that cares about bike commuting, reducing congestion and improving air quality] the ABC TMA in Boston, I went on an Urban AvenTOUR last week by bike.

We met at the Charles River Plaza -- near Whole Foods on Cambridge Street -- and went through the North End, under the Zakim bridge, and finished at Old Ironsides -- the USS Constitution in Charleston.

As we puddled along and navigated through post-rush hour traffic, I marvelled that I had never had the courage to bike in Boston traffic and enjoyed the view from two wheels. I noticed things I'd never see from a car, such as the architecture of old buildings, pocket parks I'd never noticed, the speed of biking VS. idling in traffic, the number of pedestrians on the street, and the weather.

It was fun touring in a bike caravan, something I'd not done since my four children were young enough not to have been embarrassed to have been seen with me in public, on a bike.

Our affable guide never went too fast. He stopped to provide information and tell stories, including the location of the Great Molasses Catastrophe, a location we all have driven by a hundred times, but not realized it was the scene of a great disaster.

Biking under the Zakim bridge and around the locks for the Charles River showed me an aspect of the city I had never explored. I'm definitely going to recommend AdvenTOURS to other Boston visitors and locals. You can bring your own bike or rent one of theirs.

http://www.urbanadventours.com/

18 minutes make all the difference

2008-09-17T12:34:00.001-07:00

What a difference 18 minutes makes!

I blew the settings on my alarm, yesterday, and woke up about an hour later than usual. I skipped the customary three snooze alarms, scrambled out of the sack, and started biking to work from my apartment only 18 minutes later than usual. No big deal, right. It was a pretty good recovery, I thought.

Anyway, I quickly discovered that the 7:44-to-8:09-a.m. world is a very different place from the 7:26-to-7:51-a.m. world with which I’ve become so familiar.

More cars. Higher speeds. Less courtesy. Way more anxiety for me.

Because I tend to quickly turn observations into theories, here’s my latest. I’ve always maintained that certain times of the day or week are more dangerous than others, like when schools let out, and at the end of work on Fridays when people are rushing to get ready for date night, happy hour, or whatever other event that makes them feel entitled to nothing less than a full police escort.

Now I’m adding the top of the morning rush hours to that list: 7:45 to 8:15 and 8:45 to 9:15. My theory is that most people start work at 8 or 9 a.m., often flirt with tardiness and, thus, drive more recklessly to try to show up on time.

The closer the big hand is to the 12 on weekday mornings, the more mtorists are on the road and the more reckless they become. I feel a lot safer biking to work when the big hand pointed in a southerly direction.

Have any evidence of your own to support or debunk that theory?

--Wordsmith 1953

Bikes are no longer kids' stuff

2008-09-17T12:34:00.000-07:00

I read it in a magazine last week. It’s satisfying news for anyone, like me, who has ever had a bicycle stolen.

According to The Week magazine, “Toronto’s most prolific bicycle thief has finally been arrested.” A seedy-looking used-bike shop owner, the aptly named Igor Kenk, was busted when police used a couple of new bicycles as bait and did a stakeout on a city street.

The planted bikes weren’t grabbed, but they spotted Kenk and an accomplice ripping off a couple other bikes nearby. Police later raided Kenk’s warehouse and found about 3,000 stolen bicycles ... along with “large stashes of cocaine, crack and marijuana.”

No, I’ll never see my 1963 Sears or my 1995 Trek again, but I took great satisfaction in knowing that stolen bicycles are no longer seen as just an occasional cause of childhood sadness, nothing more than a harsh lesson in life for children.

Bicycles have been big business for years. My local shop owner, as well as several of fellow shop owners in my corner of the world, are saying they’ve done about the equivalent of four years’ worth of their normal business in only the 12-18 months since gas prices started climbing.

Some people are routinely buying bicycles, these days, for as much as I paid ($2,000) for my first brand new car – a Ford Maverick in 1971. Bicycle theft just isn’t kid stuff anymore, and it’s about time police start getting serious about it.

-- Wordsmith 1953

There's no such thing as cold weather, just inadequate clothing

2008-09-16T07:17:00.000-07:00

Forgive me, Mother Nature, but as much as you’re going to try to dazzle me with your splashy hot colors over the next couple of months, I won’t be seduced.

I’ll never fall for fall because it marks the beginning of a slow layering-up from T-shirts, shorts and sneakers to sweatshirts, jeans, parkas, snow pants and boots. Before long, I’ll be yanking on my ski mask, goggles and gloves before I head out for work on two wheels.

Fall is the season I begin fantasizing about what it would be like to be a cycluter in, say, Daytona Beach, Austin or Malibu. It’s also when I start hearing mainstream New England media invariably present stories predicting hard winters by reporting on the number of rings on wooly caterpillars, the bushiness of squirrels’ tails, or the shape of persimmon seeds.

Spare me.

I know, I know. I can hear the comments now. Native New Englanders typically get as angrily defensive about their autumns as rednecks get about America when faced with war protestors. “Hey, if you don’t like it, buddy, get the h*ll out!”

As a cycluter in New England, maybe my relationship with Mother Nature is just bound to be one with a cycle of abuse.

She’ll beat me up me every winter ... and I’ll put up with it, year after year ... but only because I know how sweetly she apologizes in spring.

--Wordsmith 1953

The Zen of a Road Bike

2008-09-15T07:38:00.003-07:00

I’ve recently begun to use two simple words put together, two words that make me happy – road and bike. That’s right, road bike.

For the last dozen years, or so, I’ve ridden a fat-tired mountain bike to grad school classes, jobs, and even on assignments as a newspaper reporter, all the while coveting the bike messengers and serious city cyclers on their road bikes.

While vacationing in Maine this summer, I rented a road bike and was instantly hooked on it, like a drug. The young bike shop employee -- a seriously trained musician, blaring complex jazz tunes throughout the shop from old, boxy speakers -- talked me into the purchase of a used road bike right then and there.

The light-framed, orange dream-cycle with the curved handle bars originally belonged to a fellow north-of-Boston tourist, and rolls effortlessly along city streets and country lanes.

In Maine, I learned the Zen that comes with riding tires of a more narrow width, the exhilarating whoosh past dramatic landscapes and beneath a canopy of shimmering green trees.

Back in Salem, I’m learning to appreciate the early-morning glide past cars that sit idle, stunted and polluting in the 7 a.m. traffic. I’m now a bike commuter, riding three mornings a week from my downtown condo to Salem State College to teach an 8 a.m. class, and then back downtown to my next job.

In my car, the commute can take up to 20 minutes, but by bike, it feels almost instantaneous. I roll out onto Derby Street, cross the Congress Street Bridge, pedal through The Point Neighborhood and then out onto Lafayette Street, lined with Victorians ... and traffic, simmering in a standstill, drivers fuming and futzing with their cell phones and radios.

Sure, there are drivers who honk, shake their heads and rev their engines to growl at those who dare to bike rather than drive a car. Because they have trouble evolving beyond the great American pastime of car commuting, they will never notice details like the sunrise glinting off the harbor, tree-lined streets, children walking to school or the new fall chill in the air.

As children, bicycles featured greatly in most of our lives. We knew no other way, accepting pedal power as our only option for transport. No matter the width of their tires or the weight of their frame, those who understand the art of bike commuting seem to somehow belong to an exclusive club, a quality-of-life-seeking subculture, a serenity-seeking tribe. There is no official handshake or card to be carried in the wallet.

It takes only a bicycle, a stretch of road before you, and the musical strains of another morning unfolding all around.

--Dinah

This one's for you

2008-09-11T12:26:00.000-07:00

What are the most memorable events that occurred when you were on a bike?

Once when climbing a long hill on a hot day in the summer, someone driving by handed me a cold beer, they said I looked like I needed one.

It was good.

Nowadays, I’d be afraid to drink something a stranger handed me. That’s OK nowadays the drivers seem less hostile, during that period of time, more than once, I had people throw fireworks at me as they drove by.

--Bike Chemist

Are you working for your car or the reverse?

2008-09-09T06:41:00.001-07:00

How much does the average person work so they can own a car?

One author puts it at about 8 hours per week (http://www.bikecommute.com/moving_at_the_speed_of_life.html)

That’s 15 to 20 % of your work week, not a problem if you are a gearhead and cars are your passion. For many of us, in spite of the auto industry’s efforts to make cars the central focus of our existence, a car is like a refrigerator.

Of course cars are needed for other things too, but if you could make the tradeoff and not use a car, you could retire at least five years earlier if the car expense was invested instead of consumed in transportation.

--Bike Chemist

Bike to School targets Freikers -- frequent bikers

2008-09-05T08:57:00.000-07:00

According to an Aug. 11 New West article, "Seeking a way to encourage his own two boys to bicycle to school, software entrepreneur Rob Nagler three years ago created a system that would record the students' every ride, and award them a series of prizes based on the number of two-wheeled school trips.

"Today that system -- now powered by an ingenious sensor technology known as the 'Freikometer' -- is going nationwide, with a sponsorship from the leading U.S. bicycle maker Trek.

Now in use at schools in three states, the Freiker system (the name is short for "frequent biker"), will have TREK SUPPORT TK. "'My kids were complaining about riding their bikes to school,' recalls Nagler, the founder and CEO of Bivio software, in Boulder. 'And we lived a whole half mile from the elementary.'" --From Centerline, a bike/pedestrian e-newsletter

It is SAD that "kids today" get rewarded for doing something so basice as taking responsibility to get themselves to school. Three cheers to their parents for eschewing driving them a half-mile in the SUV to school with their sugar- and fat-laden wake-up drinks in hand, in front of the in-vehicle screens. I hope they have a water bottle on their bikes. I'm sure they couldn't make it a half-mile without some kind of libation.

--Not your typical cycluter

Bike to Work events crank up new cycluters

2008-09-04T10:19:00.000-07:00

Commuters in Eastern Massachusetts were invited to take part in Bay State Bike Week from May 12-16. Convoys, prizes, support, cheering and refreshments were offered to entice people to try one day of cycluting.

Here's an unsolicited statement from a 40-something, father of two, yoga-loving, scuba-diver, tennis player who used Bike to Work week the motivation to make his first bike commute, 8 miles from Belmont to Boston.

"I have to confess that the Bike to Work Week really did push me over the edge to at least first TRY biking, which scared me a lot before I actually tried it. But the biggest difference was pairing up with a friend in my neighborhood. She gave me the routes and confidence to keep it up. Now, I think I am hooked, for once or twice a week anyway."

You can set up a bike to work event at your workplace or join in the national event, usually held in May. If you cyclute, people probably know that. You influence others by your example. You can heighten that influence by encouraging potential cycluters, providing expertise, extra equipment, moral support, and information about gear, weather, facilities -- like showers, routes, bike laws, and anything else.

The "thinking about it phase" is the pre-behavior change period. People have to THINK about trying something new. The first day is momentous, because they've broken through the pre-change phase.

Remember when you prepared for a big event, like quitting smoking, going on a diet, or changing a job? Trying cycluting requies planning, equipment and effort. You have to want to do it, and mentally psyche yourself.

--Not your typical cycluter

Virtual bike touring from a self-professed geek

2008-09-03T07:46:00.000-07:00

As much as I enjoy biking to work every day, it can still feel like a grind sometimes. After all, I’m biking to work day after day, not the beach.

One year, to shake things up for myself, I called the good people at the Automobile Association of America (AAA) and asked for one of their “Triptiks,” with a route entirely mapped out from my home in Beverly, Mass., to San Francisco, Calif.

My daily commute to work, back then, was a 12-mile round trip, so every day, I used the Triptik to see where I’d be if I was riding my bike across the country, a dozen miles every weekday.

Not only did I want to see how long it would take me (I think I reached the Golden Gate Bridge in about 10 months), every time I reached a new city or landmark on my way west, I did a little online research to “Websitesee” and learn a little bit about where I was.

Pretty dorky, huh? OK, guilty as charged.

But I had a lot more fun taking an imaginary bike ride across the country over the span of almost a year, than biking to my cubicle farm one town over, day after day. Maybe next year I’ll head for Alaska!

--Wordsmith 1953

The Goldilocks Excuse

2008-09-02T09:30:00.000-07:00

When discussing the possibility of commuting to work by bike with uninitiated, car-commuters frequently make the Goldilocks excuse: Either it’s too far or it’s too close to ride a bike.

Just what is the perfect distance to ride a bike?

It must be something approaching 6.27589 miles ± 0.0000001 mile, because obviously no one lives exactly this distance from work.

Lance Armstrong once said something like anything less than 60 miles is not a bike ride. That’s setting the bar pretty high for most people.

--Bike Chemist

Watch out for the sun-dried weasel

2008-08-29T11:35:00.000-07:00

Not a sun-dried tomato, a sun-dried road kill weasel hurt my toe. It took two weeks before the soreness went away. My front tire flipped it up and it whacked my foot.

Strange facts you learn by riding your bike a lot: a flattened cat can last for more than six months on the side of the road. Maybe that’s why tennis racquet strings used to be made with cat gut. Fresh banana peels are just as slippery as they are on the Bugs Bunny cartoons.

The only glass that gives you a flat are the shards you don’t see, I’ve never gotten a flat from riding over broken glass that I saw.

You can almost tell the season by the stain on the road from roadkill, in the spring there is not much of a mark left, but as the summer passes into the fall, the animals are fatter and leave a greasy stain that lasts for much longer.

Avoid the trail of liquid from garbage trucks, not only will your bike and gear stink if you ride through it but it can be as slick as ice.

--Bike Chemist

Help- I need a Bike LoJack

2008-08-28T08:45:00.000-07:00

It's a sickening feeling. I've had bicycles stolen from me three times in my life, and I'll never get used to it.

The first time was when I was in fourth grade. It was the first bike I'd ever owned: a red Sears model with a headlight built right into the frame. Got it for Christmas.

That spring I took it to school and put it in the rack. Nobody used locks back then. After all, who'd be low enough to rip off a kid's bike? I'm still convinced it was my slimy classmate, Richard Starke, but I could never prove it.

The second time, I had a new Trek model that was stolen right out of my garage. The thief quietly lifted the door in the middle of the night, grabbed the bike and left nothing behind but fingerprints on the handle.

The third time was just a couple years ago. I had a $350 Giant model mountain bike tied up to a cast-iron fence where I work. It was secured with a wire lock that was snipped off in broad daylight. Poof.

These days, I bring my bike into my office at work and into my apartment when I get home. I suppose the police have bigger fish to fry, these days, than tracking down the culprits who steal bicycles, but can anyone please tell me why some kind of LoJack-style tracking system has never been made for bicycles?

We can get microchips implanted under the skin of our pets these days, to track them down if they get lost, but I've never heard of such a strategy to recover a stolen bike.

If there is such a thing, could you please clue me in? Not that I plan to have my bike stolen again, but I'd love to be able to track it down electronically if it ever is.

In the meantime, if you're reading this, Richard, I know it was you and I want it back!

--Wordsmith 1953

Gently Used Bikes sought for Recycle a Bicycle

2008-08-22T06:19:00.001-07:00

Fellow Cycluters-
With the goal of sharing the joy of cycluting [bike commuting] with others, I'm coordinating a Bike Extravaganza at Framingham State College on Sept. 10.

Some 700 students/staff members live close enough to campus to bike commute there -- many of them without changing clothes or breaking a sweat. Hardly anyone does.

Because university communities are traditionally not flush with money, when I suggest that commuters bike to campus, they either laugh at me or bemoan, "I don't have a bike."

So I have a booth -- RECYCLE A BICYCLE at the Bike Extravaganza, to get bikes in the hands of budding bike commuters who need a cheap, fast and easy way to get in the saddle and start experiencing the joy of cycluting.

My friend and devoted cycluter Doug Sheperd and I both know know there are bikes out there- curbside with the garbage, at transfer stations, in the backs of people's garages. Doug collects them and gives them to me for Recycle a bicycle. [THANKS DOUG.]

I NEED BIKES! They must be in working order -- I'm willing to lubricate the chain, tighten the brakes and pump up the tires, but that's it. If the tires are cracked, well, OK, the buyer can buy new tires. The bikes are for adults-- of all sizes, from 5 feet and up. Clear out your garage, pick up bikes from the side of the road or at the transfer station and get them to me.

DROP OFF POINTS: My office is in Framingham--Route 9/California Ave. [Technology Park] near exit 12 of the MassPike. I live in Ayer. My co-organizer lives in Waltham. I will be in Woburn on Aug. 27 and Sept. 3 at Cummings Park at 7 pm. Email me at susan@metrowest.org or call 508-879-5600 x105.

THANKS IN ADVANCE for your donations.

Tunes for the cycluter

2008-08-22T06:03:00.000-07:00

I'm old enough to remember when the list of options on cars included AM radios, cup-holders and vanity mirrors. Options! If you wanted them added on, it was going to cost extra. (Yes, I'm that old.)

As car manufacturers raised the bar on pampering motorists, all those things and many more became standard. If you think DVD players won't become standard in cars within a decade or two, think again.

Anyway, once I committed myself to cycluting (bicycle commuting) 16 years ago, I decided to search for some options of my own to make my commute as cushy as motorists'. Primary among them was a bicycle radio.

The only model I could find in 1992 was a battery powered "juvenile bicycle radio" from Radio Shack. It was AM/FM, weighed about five pounds with four C batteries inside, and included a push-button horn that wouldn't make a chipmunk flinch. The plastic bracket cracked about a month after I mounted it on my handlebars and I had to use an inner tube to tie it back in place.

Fortunately, Sony and other savvy electronics companies started to realize there was a growing market for bike radios among us grownups. I currently have a digital Sony S2 (about $60) firmly mounted on my handlebars. Not only can I listen to AM/FM radio, it includes a clock, an odometer and a speedometer.

If you have yet to discover the joy of bicycle radios, start checking some out online. Pretty soon you'll discover the joy of pumping your legs to the beat of Benny Goodman and Cole Porter! (Just kidding. I'm not that old.)

--Wordsmith 1953

Bikes are really driven, not riden

2008-08-21T07:28:00.000-07:00

I was never wild about George Carlin, although I have to admit he once uttered one of the very few lines I can remember any comedian having delivered: "Why is it that we drive on a parkway and park on a driveway?”

As a former journalist, I'm easily fascinated by quirks of the English language such as that, and have long wondered about another one. Let me be the first to admit this seems petty, but why do we always use the terms "drive a car" and "ride a bike?" Shouldn't it be the other way around?

Or at least give bicyclists credit for "driving a bike." After all, a passenger is a rider, right? Doesn't riding connote passivity, as in “going along for the ride?” We ride roller coasters. We ride trains. We ride horses. (Does anyone really want to argue that humans ultimately control those huge, powerful creatures?)

I'll admit (grudgingly) that people “drive” cars, although I'm not impressed by the physical exertion necessary to do so. A mild flex of the right ankle on the accelerator pedal and a little elbow-bending or wrist-twisting and "voila!" You're driving.

Sorry, motorists, but it's those "horses" in your engine that are doing all the work. Driving a car really takes very little drive at all, now, does it?

Maybe it's time to tweak the language a little and start crediting bicyclists with driving, not just riding.

So, try this on: "Hey, Jen, I saw you driving your bike to work yesterday," or "I'm going to drive my bike to work tomorrow." Yup, that sounds more like it to me. And who knows? Maybe someday we'll correct those parkway/driveway quirks, too.

Cyclovia - a brilliant idea imported from Colombia

2008-08-20T11:41:00.000-07:00

Am I speaking another language? YES -- Ciclovia is imported from Spanish for day of fun on bikes in Bogota, Colombia.

Ciclovia happens every Sunday when miles of city streets are shut down for an outdoor exercise festival on wheels. People of all ages turn out on their bikes, roller blades and sneakers to jog and do aerobics.

This video http://www.streetfilms.org/archives/ciclovia/ features throngs of Colombians of all ages and social classes exercising, literally, in the streets, and a class of a hundred people doing aerobics in the park.

This is an example we chubby Americans could benefit by imitating.

The Colombians also have another idea worth copying.

About a decade ago, Colombian traffic "experts" were planning to build a network of raised highways to expand roadway capacity. Officials discarded the expensive, unsustainable, and ludicrous idea [maybe after they found out about the Big Pig, I mean Big Dig, here in Boston].

Instead of spending billions of dollars [sound familiar?], they created a network of bus rapid transit lanes connected to bikeways, that include bike storage facilities to move people throughout the city.

TransMilenio moves 1.3 million people a day at 17 to 25 mph, compared to 6 mph average for NYC buses. Take a look --http://www.streetfilms.org/archives/bus-rapid-transit-bogota/.

The population of Bogata is 7 million. They're close enough to the Equator to avoid rugged winter weather. They have a significant population of people unable to afford to own and operate cars. The video shows attended parking lots of bikes next to the TransMilenio stations. Buses run continuously throughout the day.

The system is so good, everyone uses it. Bikes are foundational to the system. The transit encourages bike commuting to the station because it eliminates the need for neighborhood buses to bring people to the TransMilenio, and saves money on putting local buses on the road.

America- we aren't setting the trend here. We need to go abroad to Colombia to find the model.

Bike Fright

2008-08-12T12:41:00.000-07:00

I can’t be the only cycluter (bicycle commuter) to have been made sport of by the motoring public. Please tell me there are other riders out there who have experienced the following juvenile attempt at humor.

I’m pedaling along peaceably, with nothing but the occasional crescendo of an internal-combustion engine approaching from behind ... and waning as it passes me by. Every so often, though, just as a car pulls up by my side, the passenger screams out his window with the intent to scare the sneakers off me.

No, I’ve never had a female do it. Only young males who think it’s the funniest thing since cow-tipping.

I hate to admit this, but it works. Yup, it spooks me every time and leaves my heart racing. I’d love to say I have some tips for minimizing the fright, but I don’t.

What I do have, however, is a fond recollection of one warm spring afternoon when a couple of guys passed me in a car. The passenger stuck his head out the rolled-down window and screamed. My heart jumped, but I regained my composure by the time I approached them a little later as they sat, unsuspecting, at a red light.

Just as I pedaled up beside the car, I turned my head and screamed at the passenger, who jolted in his seat like he’d been struck by lightening. I rolled on as the light changed and they remained stuck in traffic. Sweet revenge.

OK, so I don’t recommend such retaliatory action, but I just couldn’t help myself that time. I did it for every cycluter who’s ever been screamed at by a car passenger. That has happened to you, hasn’t it?

Rule of the Road #1 - ACT LIKE A CAR

2008-08-08T07:49:00.000-07:00

Don’t get me wrong. I’m very excited about seeing more bicyclists on the road, especially when they’re pedaling to or from work.

Recreational riding is nice, but when someone uses a bicycle to commute it shows they’ve discovered a significant way of integrating pedaling into their everyday routines.

I’ve noticed, though, that the new wave of bikers – probably spawned by gas prices -- includes people who, apparently, have no idea of the rules of the road that govern them.

Maybe I’m wrong, but my understanding is that bicyclists, as long as they’re mounted up, are supposed to abide by the same laws as motorists. When dismounted and walking their two-wheelers, bicyclists become pedestrians.

All laws aside, a great deal of biking is (or should be) a matter of protecting one’s self. In other words, I don’t need a law to tell me not to ride without any hands.

My biggest “pedal peeve,” however, is bicyclists who, presumably for the sake of convenience, ride on the wrong side of the road.

All too often I find myself an unwilling participant in a game of “chicken,” as an oncoming bicyclist and I try to read each other’s eyes to see who’s going to veer off first, and which way.

On narrow streets with cars buzzing by, that’s a game I’d rather not play. Welcome to the wonderful world of bicycle commuting, newcomers, but please follow a few simple rules, for your own good. The right side of the road is the right side of the road.

When in doubt, follow the universal rule: ACT LIKE A CAR and you'll be safer.

--Wordsmith 1953

Any suggestions to maximize derriere comfort for women?

2008-08-08T07:42:00.000-07:00

I’m pretty sure my sweetheart wouldn’t appreciate me discussing her derriere on this blog, but ... well, it’s for her own good, and maybe for the good of many people who are struggling to find a comfort zone on the torturously triangular hunks of stiff foam we know as “bicycle seats.”

Last summer, in Suzanne’s kind-hearted effort to share my passion for pedaling, she bought a bicycle.

For our first pleasure ride, I suggested a trip around Plum Island and the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge. If you haven’t already done that, it’s one sweet ride.

Anyway, about two miles in, she was in agony. The seat had made her so miserable, I had to wrap and tie my sweatshirt around it for extra padding so she could make the rest of the trip.

And no, she wasn’t on a road bike that requires severe bending over to reach the handlebars.

And no, she’s not a princess either. Not even close.

Anyway, since then I’ve heard several similar stories about female beginning bikers – including prospective commuters -- experiencing unbearable pain in their nether regions after or during their first few rides.

I remember having felt a little uncomfortable when I first started biking, but it was never a level of pain that threatened to make me stop.

Since that first ride with Suzanne, I’ve searched online for more cushy seats for women, and found all sorts of designs, including a weird-looking split style. I eventually settled on a new, wider, gel seat for her, which was helpful but still not painless.

Does anyone have any other suggestions or recommendations? I hate thinking that bicycling is just always going to be a pain in the *ss for people like Suzanne.

Be "one" with the weather

2008-08-05T11:59:00.000-07:00

I don’t know why it’s taken me this long, but I finally settled on a strategy for bicycle commuting on a rainy day.

It’s a “given” that I change clothes when I get to work, rain or shine. While I’d love to spend the day in shorts and a T-shirt, my job just won’t allow it.

Anyway, my new rainy-day strategy was spawned by a new way of thinking about being wet.

We’ve all heard the line about people who “don’t know enough to come in out of the rain,” right? The assumption is that if you stay out in the rain, you’re just ... well, not very bright. Most of us, it seems, have learned to think about rain like it’s going to make us melt, or poison us, or something.

For years, as a bicycle commuter, I’ve spent money on slickers, ponchos, boots, waterproof pants, etc., all with the intention of staying dry. When I’ve been unprepared, I find a large trash bag and rip holes in the bottom for my head and arms.

No longer.

Instead of fighting Mother Nature, I’ve decided to join her.

Now, when it rains, I pull on my swim trunks and a pair of Cudas, which are comfortable pull-on shoes designed to protect your feet when you walk the water.

I’ll still wear a light raincoat, I suppose, but even if I forget, what’s the big deal? It’s just water, right? Embrace the wetness, fellow bicycle commuters. That’s why God created towels!

-- Wordsmith 1953

The striking visual of auto exhaust

2008-08-04T06:54:00.000-07:00

Last year I went to the exhibit of human bodies that had been embalmed with plastic preservatives. One display showed the lungs of someone who had never smoked in his life, but they still had black spots on them. The exhibit guide explained that the spots were from air pollution, the result of having lived in an urban area.

Fast forward to mid-July of this year, when I signed up for the “Fire Up Your Foot Power” campaign hosted by MassCommute, the professional group of Massachusetts Transportation Management Associations.

Unless there was some sort of technology glitch, I saw that every mile I biked spared the environment almost a pound of carbon dioxide. A POUND?!

Suddenly, I became very concerned about what my lungs might look like after biking through the rush-hour traffic of the North Shore. I now find myself glancing at the exhaust pipes of cars and trucks, usually as I pedal past them while they’re sitting in traffic, and wonder how much of their chronic vehicular halitosis is messing with my lungs.

Then I thought about the National Hockey League’s strategy of helping TV viewers “see” speeding pucks by attaching a blue computer-generated streak behind them. Remember that?

Anyway, I wondered what it would look like if we could somehow see the exhaust from cars and trucks as we pedal along. Probably a horrifying thought, huh? Is it possible we’re at greater risk of lung disease because we ride bikes to work?

Yes, I’ve given strong consideration to finding some kind of mask to filter the air I breath while I’m on the road. Am I being paranoid here? Has anyone else thought about wearing a face mask?

Do any even exist that can effectively filter out all the cr*p being belched into the air by all those internal combustion engines?

--Wordsmith 1953

Cycluters of the world, UNITE!

2008-08-01T07:33:00.000-07:00

In my quest to come up with a snappier word to replace the tedious “bicycle commuter” label, I started pondering the entire culture of the ever-expanding group of people I’ve come to call “cycluters.”

OK, I’m open to suggestion, but you have to admit that “cycluters” is better than saying “bicycle commuters.”

Anyway, dictionary.com defines culture as “the behaviors and beliefs characteristic of a particular social, ethnic, or age group, such as the youth culture or the drug culture.”

Is there such a thing, yet, as a bicycle-commuter culture?

When I first started biking to work in 1992 (see: grunge fashion; Windows 3.1; nicotine patches; $1.05/gallon) I was eager to connect with other bicycle commuters. Hey, trendy-car drivers wave to each other all the time. Mini-Cooper drivers do it. VW drivers. It’s part of their culture.

I started by waving when I saw other bicycle commuters, but decided it was too hazardous to ride with one hand, even momentarily.

Then I tried the adolescent-male head nod. (Too cool.)

Then I started calling out “Roll on!” (Too uncool. Way.)

Recently, I’ve just been raising the four fingers on my left hand, while keeping my thumb hooked on the handlebar grip, for kind of a “safety wave.”

Hey, if we’re going to create a culture, shouldn’t we come up with some sort of recognizable way to signal our solidarity? Somehow, the thought of just pedaling silently past each other every day leaves me flat. I prefer thinking we’re more than just Schwinns that pass in the night.

--Wordsmith 1953

Top 10 reasons to NOT bike commute

2008-07-31T06:24:00.000-07:00

“I would bike to work, too, but ___(insert excuse for not bicycling to work here)___.”

That’s the most common response I get from people when I tell them I bike to work.

Here are the unofficial Top Ten reasons I’ve heard during my years as a bicycle commuter.

1) I work in an office so I have to dress up.

2) I’d look like a mess when I got to work.

3) I sweat too much and we don’t have showers at work.

4) I haven’t gotten on a bike since I was a kid.

5) The way people drive is too scary.

6) I got hurt riding a bike once.

7) Bikes are too fancy and expensive these days.

8) I don’t have anyplace to keep a bike at work.

9) I have too much to carry to work.

10) I have too much driving to do during the day.

I suspect the REAL NO. 1 reason, though, is this: “I’m too self-conscious about how I look when I ride a bike.”

Fact is, everybody falls somewhere in the range between looking as good on a bicycle as Lance Armstrong, and as dorky as Pee Wee Herman. I’m probably a lot closer to the P.W.H. end of the appearance scale, but I feel a helluva lot smarter than anyone sitting behind the wheel of a car.

--Wordsmith 1953

The Big RiDIGulous

2008-07-30T11:02:00.000-07:00

As I pedaled to work today, I couldn’t stop thinking about the most expensive public-works project in the history of the world? Let’s call it “The Big Ridigulous.”

According to the Massachusetts Turnpike’s Authority, the $22 billion project (wait ... it probably just jumped another billion in the time it’s taking me to type this) was undertaken to relieve traffic congestion on the Central Artery in Boston.

So, instead of doing something to lessen the number of vehicles on the roads, we just make bigger new roadways. Isn’t that like trying to solve someone’s drinking problem by serving them cognac in beer mugs? Imagine how our public transportation system could have been improved with $22 billion.

Do you think, just maybe, we could have minimized vehicular congestion by maximizing the use of public transportation and promoting alternative means, like bicycling?

Instead, we forged ahead without considering what every homeowner knows: Every time you add a closet, you’ll find a way to fill it. We’ve done precisely that with The Big Ridiguous. In approximate terms, twice as much road space is being filled by twice as many vehicles.

All we seem to be able to do to make ourselves feel better is to note how pretty the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway will be, perched proudly atop our enormous boondoggle.

As the saying goes, though, “You can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig.” In the meantime, I guess we’ll just pedal on.

--wordsmith1953

Welcome Bay State Bike Commuters

2008-07-09T08:10:00.001-07:00

If you bike to work in Massachusetts -- this is your place to blog.
Bike commuting is our commute of first choice.
We eschew driving alone for the freedom, fitness and frugality of biking.
An ideal bike commute is less than 10 miles. Many avid cyclers go much further than 10 miles each way. A commute of 3 or 4 miles can be done in business casual clothes, or without taking a shower.
Ideal bike commuting season is daylight savings time, and temperate weather accompanies it.
Be sure and use lights when bike commuting without the sun.
There's no such thing as bad weather for bike commuting -- just inappropriate clothing!

These are the kinds of topics we can chat about on this blog.
Send your experiences and wild bike tales and advice to baystatebikecommuters@gmail.com for posting.
Happy biking.