Two Wheeling

My Bike's a TV Star!

I appeared this morning on Gail Hogan's Daytime Columbus television show with Kimberly Schwind, the Public Relations Manager of AAA Ohio Auto Club, to discuss bicycle safety.

I spoke from a bicyclist's perspective and focused on the basics:

    1. A bicycle is a "vehicle" under the law and entitled to use the roads and highways, but is also required to obey traffic laws. (And subject to the same fines as motorists if we disobey them.)

    2. There is no minimum speed required for cyclists.

    3. A cyclist may ride in the center of the lane on narrow urban streets, and is not required to ride next to the curb (which encourages autos to pass in the lane and jeopardize the cyclist's safety).

    4. A cyclist should ride far enough away from parked cars that he will not be "doored" if someone in a parked car opens the door.

    5. Cyclists may legally ride two abreast within a lane, although this is not recommended on single lane roads because it makes it harder for autos to pass.

Kimberly discussed bicycle safety from the motorist's perspective, indicating that motorists should give cyclists at least 3 ft safe passing distance and that motorists may cross a double yellow line to pass a cyclist who is traveling at less than 1/2 of the posted speed limit.

My very dirty bicycle was on the stage with us and got lots of face time.

 

It was such a star that one of the production people tried to run off with it at the end of the show! Hey, come back here!

 

Even though I had notes written on my hand........

 

I was nervous and forgot to mention 2 by 2012!  But we got a photo with Gail, Kimberly and me doing the 2 by 2012 thang!

 

So all was not lost! All in all, a good day for twowheeling in CBus.

And the sun's finally out and gas prices haven't gone up in 2 days!

  

Have You Noticed? The Facade of our City is Changing

They're building a new Kroger store in the Short North at the corner of King and High. I stopped today to take a few photos because they were using a cool machine to get gravel up to the roof of the new building. It uses a conveyor belt and can move lots of gravel fast--the power of machines!

 

But what's really interesting is WHERE they're building the new Kroger--right on the sidewalk!

 

This is really revolutionary and is a reflection of urban development coming full circle. We used to build storefronts next to the sidewalk to attract customers, aka pedestrians, who were walking or biking by. But somewhere along the way we decided we needed to accomodate customers in cars, so we moved the stores back off the road and put parking lots in front of the stores. This made for really lousy, cold, impersonal urban design, in my opinion, and helped discourage walking and biking in our communities.

What's so interesting about this particular Kroger site is that there's been a Kroger here for years.

 

The contrast between the old style Kroger, with the parking lot in front, and the new Kroger built on the sidewalk, with the parking lot in back, is striking. I really like this new urban design and  think it will help "reconnect" our community............just like twowheeling.

So, back to twowheeling--here's another snazzy cruiser that I noticed parked in front of the Huntington Center downtown. Maybe it belongs to an enlightened banker?

 

I'm keeping my eyes open for cool cruisers and will try to snap photos when I can.

 

 

It Keeps Raining and Gas Prices Keep Going Up

I've never seen rain or gas prices like this. We hit another record yesterday.

 

Pretty soon gas will be as expensive as cigarettes.

I'm starting to see a lot more "cruisers" on the street.

 

I think this is a sign we are evolving to the next level of the pedaling revolution. I've seen this vintage cruiser several times in the past month--I think it's owned by a young OSU student who mainly rides on the sidewalk (which is actually illegal in CBus).

I've watched this bike "carcass" being picked by vultures for the past couple of months. I'd like to think people just come and take what they need--sorta reminds me of organ transplants. This old guy is pretty much down to the frame and what must be a pretty damn strong lock.

 

I hope somebody gives him a decent burial.

 

Rain, Rain, Go Away

We just finished the wettest April in history (at least since they started recording rainfall in 1893). And May is off to rainy start.

 

Here's another reason why it's OK and legally permissible to ride in the middle of the lane--when it's raining, there are often puddles along High Street extending 2-3 feet into the lane. Cyclists are understandably uncomfortable riding through water because it's dangerous and obscures hazards, such as potholes. And there are sure plenty of potholes left over from this past winter.

Even without the puddles, it's legal to ride in the middle of the lane, aka "taking the lane," on narrow urban streets where a car is unable to safely pass the cyclist within the lane.

I don't mind riding in the rain, but it WOULD be nice to see the sun once in awhile.

Gas Prices Hit Record High!

 

This picture is worth a thousand words......and is the best recruiting tool to get more butts on bikes.

Why not save lots of $$$ and get some exercise in the process......consider biking to work! To see how easy and safe it is, go directly to www.considerbiking.org!

Amost Hit by the Budweiser Express

 
This morning's commute down High Street started like every other this month (except it wasn't raining for once). There was a slight headwind out of the south, but nothing like the beastly headwind I fought through yesterday.

But as I passed Mozart's Cafe and Bike Source,  I heard a roar and suddenly a Budweiser beer truck lurched out of the Giant Eagle parking lot and came right at me. I yelled and veered out of its path into the  other lane--fortunately no cars were coming. I stopped a little ways down the road to get a photo, thinking I might send it to the company and ask them to instruct their drivers to be nicer to twowheelers. The truck actually pulled over to apologize--that was nice. I apologized for flipping them off (I hate it when I do that--it's a bad habit.) 

Gas prices keep heading up.

 

We're gonna be seeing lots more twowheelers on the road this year.

Finally, here's a photo of the recently installed plantings at Columbus Commons. This is gonna be a nice place to hang out this summer!

 

 

Franklin County Adopts "2 By 2012!"

The Franklin County Commissioners held a press conference this morning to announce they've adopted our "2 by 2012" initiative--our aim is to get every citizen biking to work, school or to run errands twice a month. Commissioner Brown, Brooks and O'Grady each spoke sincerely about the reasons for encouraging County employees and residents to lose two wheels twice per month. Commissioner Brown indicated that a recent ranking of the personal health of Ohioans puts Franklin County towards the bottom of the list (65th  out 88). Commissioner Brooks discussed the unsustainable cost to the County and area businesses bottom lines from double digit increases in healthcare costs, much of which is related to the obesity epidemic--she acknowledged that biking can help reverse this trend. Commissioner O'Grady calculated that if someone bikes to and from work 25 miles round trip, you would save $15 per day (actually the annual cost savings of "retiring" just one of the family's autos will save $8-10,000 per year).

So the Commissioners signed on for "2 by 2012" and are providing incentives, e.g. lunch discounts, and flexible work schedules (check with your supervisor first) to encourage County employees to bike to work.

 
 

Bob Connors, the talk show host, heard that the Commissioners were adopting "2 by 2012" and poked a little fun at them this morning. "So are the Commissioners going to bike to work?" he asked skeptically. Well, Bob, I asked them point blank in front of the TV cameras and their answer? A resounding, "YES!" In fact, here's a shot of Commissioner Brooks trying out County Clerk of Courts O'Shaughnessy's stylish urban commuter bike. To me, she looks like she's ready to go!

 

And here's a shot of County Clerk of Courts O'Shaughnessy explaining to Commissioner Brooks how to carry everything you need in your panniers.

 

Commissioner Brooks said she plans to hop on one of the Clintonville to Downtown BIKE BUSES soon. (Check out the BIKE BUSES running all over CBUS at www.ridenet.net. Click on "Rides.")

Finally, here's a shot of my trusty steed tied up to one of the new bike racks recently installed outside the new County Courthouse.

 

Bob Connors also questioned how much good biking to work 2 days per month can do? I hereby challenge Bob to put his butt where his mouth is and give it a try. Whatta ya say, Bob?

 

Hold Your Horses!

I was biking to work down High Street today as usual, enjoying this fine spring weather and marveling at how many other cylists I am seeing on High Street these days--sharrows and $4.00 gas will have that effect. Passing through the University district, I caught sight of 3 twowheelers a couple blocks ahead.  Just then a light turned red in front of them and I was looking forward to catching them before it turned green and riding the rest of the way downtown with them. But they just blew through the redlight like it didn't exist. A few blocks further they blew through another one. I stopped at both lights and still caught them in the Short North.

These are teachable moments, but fraught with risk. Being by nature very independent, cyclists hate to be lectured or preached to about violating traffic laws. There's no question under the law that bicycles are "vehicles" entitled to use the highways, but it's also clear that cyclists must obey the traffic laws when they use the highways--for their own safety and the safety of others.

"Morning guys, how're you doing?" I asked as I biked into their midst. "Great," they replied. "Hey, I hate to preach, but there's nothing that pisses off motorists and gives us a bad rep than when you blow through lights like you did back there," I preached in as non-judgmental a tone as I could muster. Unfortunately, there's no way to sugar coat this message. "We always blow through lights," came the response. I shrugged and biked on ahead. I stopped at a redlight at Nationwide Blvd.--2 of the riders stopped behind the line of cars turning left and the 3rd rider blew through the light and turned right. I guess you could consider it a "rolling" right turn on red.

Ironically, my friend and law school classmate, Steve Magas, the best know bicycle attorney in the state has an editorial in the Dispatch today regarding bicycle traffic laws. Most knowledgeable cyclists realize it's in our best long-term interest to obey traffic laws, not only to stay safe, but to ensure that we earn and maintain the respect of the community as we turn Columbus into the bicycle capital of the US. It's the only way we can do it.

The grass is greening up and they're installing the carousel at Columbus Commons. I think this is going to be a very nice place for folks to hang out this summer. 

So, hold onto your horses! 

High Street Closed due to "Suspicious Package"

Despite the rain, I was enjoying my morning commute down High Street this morning until I saw a bunch of flashing lights at the south end of the Short North and yellow tape stretched across the street to block traffic. I always get a pit in my stomach when I see flashing lights on High Street, thinking it could be an incident involving a cyclist.

I got up on the sidewalk and tried to get closer to see what was going on. A police office sitting in a cruiser in an alley barked at me through his bullhorn, "Stop! Go Back!" I rode over to the cruiser and asked him if I could proceed down the alley and detour through Goodale Park. "You may," he replied.

Once I got to Goodale Ave. I headed back up to High Street and rode over the cap to where a couple bystanders were watching 4 or 5 police and fire vehicles, including the bomb squad. 

 

"What's going on, " I asked. "Suspicious package," they explained.

Damn, I didn't think anyone saw me slip that spud in my shorts. :)  

Signs of Spring

The signs of spring are just beginning to emerge--just wait til the the temps warm a bit and nature cuts loose!

Remember, the BIKE BUSES are now up and running. You can find the times and routes at www.ridenet.net (click on "Rides"). Please pass along to your friends and colleagues. With gas heading to $5 per gallon, it makes good sense to catch a ride on the BIKE BUS!