The Big Question

I am often asked these days, "When does your year commitment end?"  The simple answer would be June 25, the anniversary of the car for bike trade.  But there is not a simple answer because I don't plan on purchasing another car.  We'll still have our family vehicle which my wife drives, and perhaps I can once again drive it to fetch 50 lb. bags of lime for the yard, but overall I don't plan on changing my main way of getting around.  Why? Because it is fun, cheap, mostly efficient, and just genuinely good (especially now when the weather is basically perfect).  And on the worst weather days it is still very doable.  Remember, "there is no bad weather, just bag gear."

One recent experience gives you a taste of the good part. I wa riding on Hillsborough Street on my way home when I saw a young man yelling at the bus that was picking up across the street.  Of course the driver did not see him or wait (or saw him and didn't wait).  Our eyes caught, I yelled "bummer" we both laughed and I pedaled along my way.  That connection never happens in a car.  If I am behind the wheel, that person barely exists.  On my bike we are fellow travelers.  Those connections are precious and they are humanizing.

May is National Bike Month.  So be nice to the bikers you encounter on the road, or better yet, join them!

June 23rd is the next Durham Tour de Fat.  Join the parade, bring the kids, take in the festival.  And, just maybe, trade you car for a bike.  You won't regret it.

Durham Roads and Cycling

Last week I attended a info meeting with Congressman Price and a number of city, county and state leaders in bike and pedestrian transportation.  A few things struck me.

1. There are some smart, committed and creative folks creating all sorts of opportunities for people to move around on bikes.  The rails to trails projects are booming and it won't be long before we can move from Durham to  Cary to Raleigh along these trails.
2. There are a growing number of bike lanes that work for getting around close to downtown on the roads which is great since the trails only go to discreet places.  And "Sharrows" (share the road arrows) are showing up all over the place on our road surfaces around town.
3. What seems missing is a good plan for folks to use roads for commuting.  Lots of money being used to create new bike/pedestrian trails but little buzz about roads.
4. There are some good bike lanes approaching Duke and Durham from the south where a lot of the new growth is occurring.  
5. There are literally NO BIKE LANES (yes, I am yelling for any who will hear) approaching Duke and Durham from the North where half the county lives.  Morreene, Hillandale, Guess, Gregson, Roxboro all are North/South corridors and none of them even approach being safe to ride on.  I did find out that a portion of Hillandale/Fulton, from I-85 to Duke Hospital, will be getting bike lanes within the next two years but the section being redone up to Carver will be getting only "wide lanes".  This addition is better but why no lanes up to Carver?  What a missed opportunity!
6. As far as I could hear, there are NO OTHER PLANS (yelling again) for bike lanes from the north into the major work areas.  This makes no sense and leaves northern citizens traveling dangerous routes if they want to bike commute.  That includes me.
7. Bike and pedestrian advocates and committee members are great folks.  They need more clout and I wonder what some of us non-involved citizens can do to help them get the clout they need.

Well , that's my rant for now.  I do appreciate the efforts of the local commissions and rails to trails folks.  But we seem to be missing some major pieces and more help is needed.

Ordinary Days

After a while, bike community stops feeling like something special.  It becomes somewhat ordinary with repeated routes, regular weather (chilly but very tolerable), kind drivers (mostly) and no surprises.  I don't like it, and I DO like it.  Life is not fundamentally about how you get from here to there.  It is about how you invest in others, about how you do your work, about how you love those you ride home to, and about living in harmony with creation.

People at work are used to me coming in all bundled up, with lots of bright yellow clothing and a bit of sweat.  Conversations however are about life and ministry and schedules and family.  My wife is used to me coming home on the bike and asks less about how my commute was and more about how my day was.  And I am used to coming and going on the bike, used to adjusting my schedule to accommodate for travel time, used to carting clothes and food back and forth according to the needs of the day.

This way of commuting is less exciting.  This way of commuting is more sustainable and integrated into the larger whole of my life.  This way of commuting is good.

On another note, hats off to my LBS (Local Bike Shop) owner Adrian for quickly repairing my Black Sheep after one of my bungee cords sprang off and got caught in my hub.  Service while you wait - can't be beat.  Check out www.sevenstarscycles.com

Keep Riding!
Steve

Beautiful Day to Ride

Last day of December, a Saturday, temps in the low 60s!  Had a great ride today with a dear friend on my neglected Madone.  Only 25 miles but it seemed long compared to the commutes.  I must say a 16 lb bike sure is a lot easier to get up a hill!  I have missed the long rides and hope to resume them this spring.

This is well into my 7th month of my year on a bike.  Time flies when you're having fun!

That was close!

Most of the time, most of the days, cycling feels safe, enjoyable and healthy.  Then once in a while something happens that reminds me of how vulnerable I am out there among the gas powered vehicles.

Yesterday evening, while cycling home I was in front of a line of cars with other cars coming the other way.  The lead car appropriately waited to pass.  When the oncoming traffic cleared it was time for me to make a left hand turn.  I had signaled, moved into the center of the lane and again the car behind me politely waited.  But the car behind him/her did not.  Just before I crossed the center line to make the turn a car sped past me on my left after passing the car behind me.  No passing lane, no warning and my life almost ended.  Patient cycling, and patient driving saves lives.

Not sure what I would have done differently, but I sure wish I could have a word with that driver.  I'd love for him/her to meet my wife and kids, have a cup of coffee and think about what being in a hurry might have cost us all.

But today was a great riding day and I was able to get a nice rack onto the back of my UniVega road bike.  Now I'm all set with the Black Sheep for local heavy lifting and the UniVega for long distance commutes.  I see no car in my near or distant future.  Lovin' it!

What I learn from my dog Rudy

I took Rudy out for our daily morning walk and had the daily exasperating experience.  My mission is to get around the neighborhood, have Rudy do his business, get back home and on to the next mission.  His mission is to try to chase every squirrel, to bark at every jogger and, when it suits him, to do his business.  But he has one more mission - to track down every interesting smell.  Our walks always come to a standstill when Rudy catches whiff of something interesting.  He'll track back in forth, nose to the ground until he can identify the exact blade of grass where the fascinating new smell resides.  Then he burrows in with his nose with the satisfaction of an astronomer discovering a new galaxy.  Rudy does not care why we are on a walk.  He does not care about our destination.  His whole world shrinks to that one smell...then I yank his chain and we are off to the next great thing.

I like biking because it is slower and more intimate than a car.  You see, hear, smell, feel more on the bike.  But I am still me.  I am watching my time while road biking, hoping to ride a bit faster or longer.  Or I am on my way to a meeting on my commuter, focused on the task awaiting me.  Just being, enjoying, taking in a lingering moment of beauty or enjoying what is at this moment right in front if me - these things all too often elude me.  I've got important things to do.

So, if I show up a bit late for a meeting or seemed to have lost an edge on a long ride, it might mean I've learned a few things from my dog.  Or it could just be an off day!

Cycling with Patience

Most cyclists have experienced it.  The driver in a rush who brushes too close, or who zooms around you only to make a right turn right in front of you causing you to hit the brakes, HARD.  And most of us have yelled at said drivers, either some expletive or a gentler rebuke (my favorite, "You Idiot!").  Impatient drivers are a danger to cyclists.

But we have a call to be patient cyclists as well.  Are we so inconvenienced if we have to use our brakes?  Do we need to get to the front of the traffic at a light by riding on the right of cars?  We have the option to practice Patient Cycling, and we'll be safer, and happier, if we do.

Impatience!  What is it anyway?  My best definition is that it is the irritation/anger that arises in us when others are not operating in a way that suits us best.  In cars it is the frustration with the person driving too slowly in front of us. In relationships it is the constant irritation with others who don't pay attention to our preferences.  In cycling it is the rush to judge, and condemn the way others are operating their vehicles.  If that is impatience, than patience is my decision to pay attention to, and adjust to, the preferences of those around me. It is not just to let perceived offences go, but to actively accommodate to the ways others might prefer.

In cycling, patience can mean slowing down, helping cars know when to pass, pulling to the left of the lane at a light so drivers can turn right on red, watching out for pedestrians, stopping at lights, not passing traffic on the right.  But the internal bit is to let go of our demand that everyone else around us adjust to our needs and ways.  And it might mean getting somewhere more slowly.  But we won't be as irritated, and drivers won't be as irritated and the world will be a bit more at peace.  Try it today.  I'm pretty bad at it myself, but hopefully getting better.