Two Wheeling, Now with Barns!

I'm Back!

I know--you're probably wondering where I went. Perhaps the thought crossed your mind that my twowheeling luck had run out.  Well, the rumors of my demise were greatly exaggerated!

I haven't had much to write about since the fall of 2011 because that's when I unchained myself from my desk and tunnelled out of the corporate law world into the land of Amish farms, 19th century barns and manual labor. I still practice law almost "full time"  from my cloud office, but I spend an equal amount of time working for the Mt Vernon Barn Company, a company that dismantles, moves, rebuilds and repurposes early 19th century handhewn timberframe barns and log houses. www.mtvernonbarn.com We also make furniture from reclaimed wood we find in our barns and log houses.

We just dismantled, moved and finished reconstructing a massive 1830 barn in Knox County. Here are some before and after photos:

We start by finding a great barn that needs a new home.

Then we have to clean out 50-150 years of accumulated hay, straw and barn junk.....I mean "treasures."

This is pretty dangerous work but we're careful and haven't had any serious injuries--just a couple minor casualties.

Then we put it back up.

We build really nice cupolas from scratch.

The almost finished product.

We operate the barn business from our farm outside of Gambier, Ohio, so I don't bike downtown much any more. In fact, I hate to admit that I spend most days driving around the Ohio countryside in a pickup truck.

(Actually, this is one of our barn finds--a 1951 Ford F-3 pickup. We've got it running well but it's geared too low to go very fast or very far. We use it mainly to turn heads.)

I love my new office views!

I haven't quite figured out how to move a barn via bicycle, but I'm working on it. It might be a challenge to move these 62 ft long handhewn timbers.

They don't make trees like this any more!

I did bike the 120 miles to our farm and back about once per week in the summer and hope to pick that routine back up in the spring.

We've completed two barn projects so far and are breaking ground on our third this week.

Sorry to be so long-winded, but I haven't blogged in awhile and there sure is lots to catch you up on. I hope you enjoy the barn stories and photos.

There's lots to catch you up on in the CBus twowheeling world, too. I'll try to provide a balance between barns and bikes in the coming months.

Over and out.

 

 

 

Mind-Altering Trip to Minneapolis

I just got back from a mind-altering trip to Minneapolis. I went with biking friends, Jeff Stephens (ED of Consider Biking), Greg Bachman (Pickerington City Engineer and MORPC Board member), Alan McKnight (Head of Columbus Recreation and Parks) and Nick Poppa (Columbus City Transportation Engineer) to study the state of the art bikeway system and programs in the "bicycle capital of the US" according to Bicycle Magazine. The trip was organized and sponsored by Bikes Belong from Boulder, Colorado--they do a great job spreading the twowheel gospel around the country. For this trip, they invited delegations from Columbus and Pittsburgh. We were there for 2 1/2 days and met with the Mayor, who is a huge biking advocate and heard presentations on the Alternate Transportation Pilot Project (the $25 million 5 year federally funded transportation project that seeks to create significant mode shift in Minneapolis/St Paul--to date they've achieved 4% mode shift in the region), the "NiceRide" bike share program (launched with 700 bikes at 65 stations and adding another 250 bikes this year), winter biking (Minneapolis has 1% mode shift in the winter--the same mode shift Columbus has in the summer!) and other cutting edge ideas. We used the NiceRide bikes to bike approx 20 miles around Minneapolis to experience their amazing trail and on-road systems. We gathered lots of great ideas to bring back to CBus--look for some of these ideas to be implemented in the near future. Now for the photos.............

 
This fella was on our plane, but was not part of our delegation. Plane seats have gotten smaller over the years, but I've never seen anyone fill up a seat like this. 

Here's our CBus delegation....

 
From left to right--me, Nick, Jeff, Alan and Greg with the mighty Mississippi in the background.

Our meeting with Minneapolis Mayor  JT Rybak who is a big twowheel advocate and raised $3 million to implement the city's bike share program.

 

Here's a NiceRide bike share docking station. They have 65 stations with 700 bikes located all over Minneapolis. Annual memberships cost $50 and this entitles you to unlimited rides of up to 30 minutes. The system was rolled out in June last year and had 100,000 rides during the short season. They take the bikes in for the winter although lots of folks bike through the winter in Minneapolis--as many people as bike in the warm weather months in CBus. Go figure.

 

Here are some shots of our merry band as we biked around Minneapolis.

 
 
We had a filmmaker from the NYC company, StreetFilms, filming us--I'm sure this film will be a blockbuster!

 
Here's a shot of the Minneapolis light rail.

 
You can even take your bike on with you!

 

They separate the bike trail from the pedestrian trail in Minneapolis--a great idea if you have the money and enough right-of-way to build two paths.

 

They have a couple great bike stations along the bikeway that house shower/changing facilities, a wonderful cafe, a bike repair shop and storage for the NiceRides.

 
 

Here's an innovative way to put a protected bike lane onto a busy street--it's called a "buffered" bike lane or a "cycle track"--the cars to the left of the bike lane are parked, not moving.

 
Here's the signage they use.

 
Nick Poppa, our city transportation engineer thinks these could work on 3rd and 4th streets--wouldn't that be great!

We stayed at a hotel on the U of M campus (Minnesota, not Michigan) and look what we came across on one of our bike rides.....

 

I was wearing my usual OSU ball cap and when they saw it they went nuts and began to give me the one-finger welcome. I responded with a rousing round of "O-H".......................no reply.

They modified their one-finger welcome when I raised my camera to snap this photo--all in good fun.

The bottom line is Minneapolis is the leader in bikeway infrastructure and programing in the US. They have enlightened leadership and passionate grassroots support for the twowheeling revolution in their community. It has become very much a part of Minneapolis' "brand." And they have been able to achieve a 4% mode shift in the "coldest big city in the world." They have a saying in Minneapolis..........."What doesn't freeze you, makes you stronger."

We were greatly inspired by our friends up north and hope to follow their lead here in CBus. Power to the Pedal!! 

 

 

 

 

I Got You Babe

Sorry, I've been in communicado for a couple weeks......lots to share with you.

We hosted the Trek Community Bike kiosk at Consider Biking week before last. It's been installed in 8 US cities so far--Denver has 500 community bikes, Madison 350, etc.

 
The system uses heavy duty (I'd say indestructible) urban bikes and a cool software system that allows you to scan a membership card or a credit card. We're hoping to install 100+ community bikes in CBus soon--keep your fingers crossed.

I was biking to work through Whetstone Park early one morning last week when I came across an erie sight--sunbeams in an otherwise completely darkened glade. I couldn't tell whether to expect a fairy convention or for Scotty to beam me up!

 

I came across a very cool bike and biker in the Short North last week.

 
Check out the spikes.......

 
and a close up of Sonny.....

 

Check out the bi-plane flyin at the Mt. Vernon airfield last weekend.

 

and the cool, authentic totem pole I saw right on the Ohio River last weekend.

 
and then there's the mighty Ohio....

 
as pretty as a picture.

 

Check It Out

They installed the exterior sign at Consider Biking yesterday. It looks awesome!

 

We're having an open house tonight from 5-8 pm (4041 N High in Clintonville). Please stop by if you're in the neighborhood and check out our offices and the Trek Community Biking kiosk. This is the cool system that is currently deployed in 8 American cities and, we hope, soon to come to CBus. (BTW, we'll have lots of good beer available.)

I snapped these photos of a very snappy fixie on my way to work this morning. The owner mans the coffee shop on the ground floor of the Dakota in the Short North.

 

Check out a closeup of these cool wheels....

 

and the artwork on the frame.......

 

These bikes are works of art and a wonderful form of self expression--they make you smile when you look at them. I hope you are enjoying my photos.

Please join us tonight at Consider Biking--we'd love to see you. 

Does This Make Any Sense?

When I began biking to work almost 10 years ago one of first things I noticed was how many cars only had one occupant. I think you probably notice this when you're commuting via automobile, but you don't see that many cars because you're moving  with traffic--when you're on a bike you see hundreds of cars during a typical commute and the wastefulness of our daily commuting system really hits home .

I hadn't given this much thought over the past few years, but while waiting at Panera Tuesday morning to embark on the BIKE BUS I watched at least 100 cars pass by, all containing just one occupant.

I started thinking......each of these cars is designed to carry at least 5 passengers--so if there's only one person in them they are operating at 20% of capacity. That means at least 80% of the fossil fuel being used and 80% of the CO2 and other emissions are being used/emitted for no purpose! Does this make any sense? (That's a rhetorical question.)

While biking to work yesterday I saw a mess at the corner of Hudson and High where a vehicle, probably an auto (certainly not a bicycle!) plowed into and demolished the newstands.

 

I hopped off my bike to take this photo and as I was preparing to leave I saw four pennies neatly stacked on the curb--I'd like to know the story behind that.

 

On the way home I snapped this photo of a young family walking along High Street in Clintonville. I really liked the baby's Outback-style hat. His parents said his name is "Fox" after X Files.

 

I biked in this morning with Jim, a young designer at OSU. He's been biking to work from his home in Worthington for 3 years and loves it! Like me, he used to use the Olentangy bike path, but now rides High Street because it's a more direct route. I'm seeing lots more bikes on High Street--we've got a ways to go to catch Portland and Minneapolis, but we're moving in the right direction!

Only Their Hairdressers Know for Sure

I've played in a local rock and roll band called The Klatt Brothers Band for the past 15 years. For at least the past 13 or 14 years we've played for the Race for the Cure, providing entertainment for the runners and walkers as they pass by. We've seen the size of the race increase from a couple thousand to more than 50,000 this year. When friends ask us what the largest crowd we've ever played for, we tell them 50,000--but they're all running out on us!

We receive as much or more entertainment than we provide at the Race. We especially like the pink wigs that lots of folks wear in honor of Heather Pick. Here are just a few of my favorites from this year's Race.

 
 
 
Our Race is the 2nd or 3rd largest in the country. We're honored to play a small part in it each year.

Another great event each year is the Ride of Silence where this year over 700 cyclists rode silently through Columbus to honor our fellow cyclists killed on the roads this past year.

 
A good friend, John Davidson, gave us a poignant sendoff with his piping.

 

Saw a couple cool bikes on the way in this morning. Here's a neat cruiser.

 

and a cool fixie.

 

 

 

Make Mine a "Kinky Twist," Please

I biked out to Easton today to do an on camera interview with Amanda, an OSU grad student, who is making a documentary to promote active transportation as a solution to the obesity epidemic ravaging America, especially the south where she's from.

I biked straight out Morse Road which is one of the few roads in Columbus with a bike lane--this is very helpful because there is lots of traffic averaging 45+ mph. The bike lane was clear most of the way but I did encounter debris and thought for sure I was going to flat when I ran over a broken beer bottle.

 
I'm in favor of bike lanes, but they have to be kept clean or cyclists will avoid them.

There's parking for thousands of cars at Chase's Easton offices, but not a single bike rack, so I tied up to a light post.

 

There was a steady stream of cars with couples in them, pulling up to the drop-off area to let one of the people out to go to work. It reminded me of parents dropping their kids off at school--at least they're carpooling!

 

After my interview, I headed downtown to my office via Cleveland Avenue. I really enjoy biking  through Linden and some of the other historic city neighborhoods--they're so..........real. The diversity of the architecture and the residents is a stark contrast to Easton and New Albany.

There are sights that are sobering and sad.

 

 
I envision young children walking by these storefronts and wondering why these buildings are vacant and have bars on them.

Most of the advertising features exclusively African American models and advertises things I've never heard of, like the "Kinky Twist."

 
 

Bill Dawson and my other friends at the Franklin Park Conservatory are active in our center city communities, working with folks in the neighborhood to create and maintain beautiful community gardens on vacant lots, like this one right on Cleveland Ave in the heart of Linden.

 
 
Way to go, Bill! (Please tell your volunteers I love what they're doing here!)

It appears that God is alive and well along Cleveland Ave, with churches and neighborhood ministries on almost every block. 

 
This also indicates that there is much pain and need for God's grace here.

 

The Columbus Commons opens today--looks like they're getting ready to party!

 

These are the things I saw and thought about on my way to work this morning--I feel pretty lucky.

Hey, Are You Here to Ride On the BIKE BUS?

We've been operating the BIKE BUSES for about a month now and I've yet to have my first rider. Every Tuesday that I've been running my bus it's rained, so I don't blame folks for not riding to work. My bus leaves every Tuesday at 7 am from Panera in Clintonville and heads straight downtown along High St. I was waiting at Panera this morning and I thought I had my first customer.

 

Are you here for the BIKE BUS?  I anxiously asked. He looked at me kind of funny and said, "No, I'm just here for a cup of coffee." Chad bikes 8 miles to work most days (80% of the time), but he was going the other direction. Oh well, I'll keep showing up and hoping I have some riders some day.

I snapped a photo of this snappy "ride" on my way in this morning. It was parked just off High in Clintonville.

 
If I wasn't on a people-powered twowheeler, this would be my ride of choice.

Best photo of the day goes to.......................

 
John (not his real name--he requested that I conceal his true identity) says he retired after 34 years at OSU and now collects cans every day to stay active and keep in shape. This bag weighs about 25 lbs. and at $.72 per pound is worth $18. John had just hit the jackpot on "fraternity row" (imagine that). I must say this is one of the more interesting encounters I've had while twowheeling. It sure makes commuting more interesting!

CBus has the Coolest CEOs in the Land!

The CEO community turned out in force this morning to show their support for the pedaling revolution in Columbus! More than 100 area CEOs and friends and colleagues biked to work with Mayor "Bikin" Mike Coleman, Congressman Steve "TwoWheelin" Stivers, and me and my friends from Consider Biking. The 40 degree temp and a light drizzle wasn't any match for our hearty band of bicyclists who met at Franklin Park Conservatory and biked straight down Broad Street to City Hall. It's not every day that I get to ride with a police escort.

 
The Mayor has become one heck of a cyclist. Last year he rode in one of the toughest TOSRV's ever AND rode the full Pelotonia. (He's also very photogenic--doing the "2 by 2012" thang.)

Here's my North End band of brothers that met at 6:15 am in Clintonville and biked all the way to Frankin Park.

 

(OK, Judge Klatt, I see you doing rabbit ears instead of the 2 by 2012 thang--no fair. That's usually my trick. :))

2 by 2012 is a "bike-partisian" initiative--Congressman Steve "TwoWheelin" Stivers joined us on the ride. He's a member of the U.S. Congressional Cycling Caucus as is Congressman Tiberi.

 
(Steve's second from the left.)

We had a great turnout from the CEO community, including Michael Dalby (the new CEO of the Columbus Chamber), Melissa Ingwersen (Key Bank) and Tanny Crane (CEO of the Crane Companies and Vice Chairman of the Columbus Foundation Governance Committee--much thanks to the Foundation for providing generous support to 2 by 2012).

 

And my favorite photo of the day..................

 
My good friend, Jack Partridge, president of Columbia Gas, who insists on wearing his Columbia Gas hardhat and reflective vest (which distorts our photos). This is Jack's second year biking through the rain and near freezing temps to support our cause. Thanks, Jack! I owe you big.

It speaks volumes for our CEOs to get out on a day like today to show their friends, families and colleagues that it's not only ok to bike to work, but that biking is a viable, even preferable, form of urban transportation in the 21st century. We all love our cars, but we don't need to use them for short urban trips of 2-5 miles. The Columbus CEO community knows that biking to work and other forms of active transportation are good for their employees and their companies' bottom lines--studies show that employees who bike and walk to work are healthier, happier, more productive and miss less work. Check out http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/2010/08/20/walk-cycle-obesity.html.  And new economy workers, and the companies that wish to employ them, are increasingly attracted to cities with vibrant, active transportation systems--that's why 2 by 2012 is important to the economic development of our region. 

So C'mon! Join in the fun! Dust off your old twowheeler, or buy a bike from one of our great area bike shops (much thanks to Roll, Trek and Bike Source for providing loaner bikes and support for our CEO Bike to Work Challenge!). Sign up for www.RideNet.net  and start logging your rides and qualify for more than $5,000 in prizes for just logging 2 rides in May. Become a member of Consider Biking www.considerbiking.org, our passionate, effective, local bicycle advocacy organization. And start twowheeling around town............you won't believe how it will improve your life and your community.

City Sights (Warning: Some of these photos are not for those with queazy stomachs.)

I biked out to St. Charles HS for a meeting to hear about their new project to build a track--when my son Corey ran there, the track team worked out at East HS and CSG when they could get the track. Corey held the school record in the mile until this year. I was able to snap a photo of his name on the record plaque before they take it down. (He'll give me hell for talking about him on my blog.)

 

I rode home a different way--up 4th Street. The traffic moves quite a bit faster than on High Street where I spend most of my commuting life. I guess the traffic moved a little too fast for this poor guy. (I see lots of groundhog roadkill in Knox County, but not so much in CBus--RIP buddy.)

 
I was almost roadkill, trying to snap this photo in the middle of 4th Street.

I led the BIKE BUS down High Street at 7 am this morning. No one showed up again, but I'm not giving up! Anyone who wants to experience urban riding can meet me any Tuesday morning at 7 am at Panera Bread on High St just north of Henderson and we'll ride downtown together.

I spotted another nice "cruiser" this morning. They mostly seem to inhabit the OSU campus which makes sense. This is another vintage Huffy.

 

A little farther south I snapped this photo in front of the new Ohio Union--lots of bike racks!

 

Finally, here's something you see every day in Shanghai, but not in CBus.

 

These huge cranes are building the new Hilton hotel near the Convention Center. These are big Tonka toys! Pretty awesome.

 

I'm having fun snapping photos with my new I Phone. Do you guys like them?