Drive To Bike To Work

Last Friday I was invited to accompany a Bike Walk Connecticut Board Member to Elm City Cycling's Bike To Work Breakfast in New Haven. It was a well-run, well-stocked (good food!) and well-attended event that made me wish I could have attended a Hartford counterpart this very morning. Last month's one-time deal was all well and good and fun, but I would love to see it continue as a year-round monthly event, however low-key.

Since neither of us had the time to pedal the 90-mile round trip and Amtrak's bike policy is a sorry load of crap, we reached the Elm City by station wagon, suffering the mild indignity of unloading our bikes in a parking garage and wheeling them up the sidewalk. The weather was beautiful, people were in good moods and a small set of speakers were hooked up to provide the morning noshers with tunes and announcements from Elm City Cycling and Bike Walk CT. People lingered a bit after 9:00 AM. It was a casual Friday morning to be sure.

We followed up the breakfast with a guided mini-tour of New Haven that included some neighborhood landmarks, the East Coast Greenway route and waterfront vistas.I shook my fist in the general direction of Amtrak (and, by default, Metro North, which is better than Amtrak but has miles of room for improvement regarding bikes) as we passed the train station. I later biked to a job interview in Hartford, so my conscience was cleared of guilt from partaking in an unearned free breakfast.

Right here in Hartford, this month's Critical Mass ride will be visiting the West End Farmers' Market for some locally-grown goodness. Meet near the Bushnell Park carousel this evening at 6 PM. Read more!

Real Ride Hartford (and West Hartford) Bicycle Parade

Preface: There were photographers with actual camera mounts for their madly expensive gear, so if you want to see "professional-looking" photos, I'm sure those will be online somewhere in a few days.

Saturday evening's bicycle parade made me very proud, happy, and relieved that I live in Hartford. More on that later. We began at Real Art Ways on Arbor Street. Here, people had the chance to tart up their bikes with lights and random art supplies provided by Anne Cubberly. There was a fish bicycle
(perhaps a reference to the quote often falsely attributed to Gloria Steinem?), cat bike, horse bike, clock bike, and demon bike. Those stuck out the most in my memory. Others were piled with lights and glowing orbs. One gal had a plastic flower on the front of her bicycle -- it dispensed bubbles! I did not get the chance to talk to her, but I see a mobile bubble dispenser as part of my future. At least two riders had awesome camera mounts which I am sure enabled them to take focused, high resolution, non-blurry photos that they are not going to be ashamed of showing to the public. There was at least one tandem and it was rigged with a souped up vuvuzela. That I can not describe each and every bike says something about the turnout. There was at least four times as many people there than I expected would show -- some coming down from Boston for the event.


The parade turned right onto Arbor Street, then right up Capitol Avenue. We turned left down Flower Street, crossed the railroad tracks, and then turned right onto Farmington/Asylum. The ride stopped at ArtSpace (555 Asylum Street) so that we could meet up with people who were attending the Art for AIDS fundraiser. It would have made more sense to stop in the back lot instead of on the incline of the street, but it also would have made sense for the stops to last ten minutes or more to allow for a drink/bathroom break. We did not go inside ArtSpace or Billings Forge, so the purpose for stopping at each place was unclear. In the future, more work could go into allowing for people at each venue and on bicycles to mingle, if that's the point. I'm not saying it wasn't fun. I thought it was a blast. But the stops could have been a bit longer. Anyway, I know that the original plan was for this ride to take an hour. I think the route planners forgot that it was going to be a slow ride, made perhaps even slower by the presence of a DJ being hauled on a trailer behind a bicycle. You just can't take corners fast on that kind of rig and who wants to rush along a trailer full of awesome?

From ArtSpace we continued into and through Bushnell Park, but only a sliver of it to cut behind the Legislative Office Building and Armory. We looped back onto Capitol Avenue and then Broad Street so we could stop at Billings Forge. Since an artist briefly spoke to the group, this stop seemed more meaningful. There was some kind of solstice event supposedly going on at Billings Forge. When we rode through, it seemed like only a few people were outside of the venue/compound.


Here is where dynamics got weird. And by dynamics, I mean that almost everyone in the parade was white and we were about to head further into Frog Hollow -- an area I am convinced was virgin territory for a number of the cyclists. Disclosure: I am perhaps being overly sensitive about this because I live here and am very familiar with the area and people. Before heading back on Broad Street and down Park, I overheard a couple people making remarks about how they hoped the musical selections for the area were "appropriate." This was followed by several Speedy Gonzalesesque cheers. Very not okay. Very WTF. Guess this reminded me that I can not stereotype all artists or bicyclists as being open-minded or aligned with progressive values. Maybe instead of a bubble machine, I could rig my bike with a flamethrower in order to more productively deal with racially and ethnically bizarre comments.


Riding up Park Street made me proud to live in Hartford. It was around 9-9:30pm, I'd guess, and the sidewalks were busy. People were outside cheering us. Really cheering us. There is this great vibe that emanates from the area and makes it hard not to smile, honk, wave, and holler back. A strong contingent of kids joined us for a ways, riding their BMX, department store, and low-rider bikes on sidewalks and in the streets. The photo at the beginning of this blog post is of two of them. I yelled for them to join in, and two or three stuck with us for the rest of the ride. These kids made the event seem more like a parade and less like a regular old ride. Another funny indication that some riders had no idea where they were: I overheard one woman getting nervous about the presence of a police cruiser coming down Park Street. Really? Really?! I got stopped by a cop on Park once for looking suspicious while pushing a wheelbarrow filled with shovels and pitchforks. He wanted to know why I had these tools, so of course I told him something like they were for stabbing someone to death and then burying her. My memory on that conversation blurs a bit. Maybe I said they were for farming. I don't recall. A little traffic on the street is nothing they aren't used to. Hell, just a couple weeks ago, in the lead up to the Puerto Rican Day Parade, the street was used to showcase everyone's decorated rides, causing far more severe traffic jams, and the police involvement was kept to a respectful minimum. The government that governs best governs least.



I hope this ride was educational for non-local or non-bike-commuters, as the amount of broken glass in the bike lanes and streets is something that a large number of people are now aware of and could complain about. There are some immediate infrastructure differences between Hartford and West Hartford. The moment we crossed into the suburb, the pavement became smooth. The only real debris there was roadkill. While a less comfortable ride, I felt safer in Hartford. Cars seemed to give us more space and props in the city. The horns were cheering us, not expressing impatience with us and then zooming past at 50 miles per hour. During the week, I experience plenty of impatient, distracted drivers whizzing past me in the city, but on Saturday night, they all seemed chill.


And then we crossed into West Hartford. The pavement became so smooth and we could hear the sound of our tires against it, which is to say that nearly all of the observer encouragement ceased. While passing one of those restaurants with outdoor patios (I know which one, but I'm not going to give them free publicity) on Park Road, we actually received polite golf claps (not to be confused with booty claps. we received no booty claps that I am aware of). There were a few cheers, but the ratio of noise to people was sorely disappointing. C'mon! Live a little! It's okay to break with decorum, particularly on a beautiful Saturday night in the summer.

Around this area, someone asked, "What are you doing?" to which I responded, "Riding a bicycle!" Duh! "But what for?" "To ride. Because it's fun." Someone else jumped in to give a convoluted explanation of what we are doing. My policy? When people ask stupid questions, keep the answers short so that they can understand. If we were riding for "something" we would have had signs or shirts announcing that probably.


We turned onto South Quaker, then left onto Boulevard. Here, the street got very dark and even quieter. Up in the Center, we did some zigzagging and I did not bother paying attention to all of the road names. Some of the people dining outdoors on LaSalle Road were more supportive. We looped around, returning to Main Street and then cut through Blue Back Square. Again, a decent number of people outside, but too, too quiet. We took Farmington Avenue down to Sisson Avenue, Capitol Avenue, and then Arbor or Orange (depending on whether or not the cyclist felt like following directions), back to the Real Art Ways parking lot. The only part of the ride where there were impatient motorists seemed to be on Farmington Avenue, in West Hartford Center, and Blue Back Square. But for the few jerks behind steering wheels, there were a number of patient motorists who waited calmly while everyone passed.


Despite the amount of broken glass and potholes, I do not think anyone popped a tire. I only saw one person fall, and it was one of those "can't get my foot out of the clip" incidents -- toppling over, more than a violent collision. She said she was okay. I heard something pop or snap on another rider's bike but don't know what happened. Some shit fell off my bike when I hit one of the many potholes, but the lost items were not integral to the operation of the machine, and I basically knew they were not going to stay on because I rushed the decoration process.

It was heartening to see so many females and even a few children riding, which of course begs the question -- why am I not seeing this many women on the road normally?


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Consternation

I'm sure people assume that I'm always pro-bike path. I'm in favor of most bike paths- old railroad right of ways, separate bike lanes, places that have already been developed, etc. But, if the land is untouched or only touched by unpaved trail, but I think it's better of to stay that way than add pavement.

To that end, I received an email from the Town of Windsor yesterday asking us to lobby on behalf of a trail from the Bissel Bridge to Mead Rd in Windsor. At present, you can make this journey without too much muss or fuss, by either taking relatively quiet roads or using a few trails along the train tracks that are rather pleasant. The DEP owns the land they want to pave. Below is the area:

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At first, I thought they wanted to pave the trail from the Bissel bridge up to Loomis, which be a shame, because it's nice and quiet in there, but I guess they don't want to do that.

So, the questions, I guess is pave or don't pave. Am I just selfish? The C&O Canal isn't paved and people love using that.

Those Hockanum trails are unpaved except for complex bridges. I like that.

Don't I have the dorkiest cockpit set up ever there?

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Bikes Outside: Handrails to Trails

This morning finds the roving Bikes Outside eye between the State Armory and the Legislative office building. While these structures are best known for their vital proximity to and support of the Capitol Ave. Dunkin Donuts, they have other important functions. The armory is a beautiful stone structure, and the LOB helps keeps legislators off the street.

The adjacent compounds also form the all-important gateway to the path to the southeast corner of Bushnell Park. It was on my way to this always handy, often sandy bit of the East Coast Greenway that I spotted this clean Trek hybrid tethered to a railing. I say tethered rather than locked because this is one of the more halfhearted locking jobs I have seen. Bike theft is a drag on many levels, and I cringe when I see such an easy target.

This style of handrail is probably the best of the non-bike-rack-bike-racks out there. A longish one like this can accommodate many bikes and any sort of lock, from a heavy-duty chain to a compact U-lock to a glorified bungee cord of the sort we see here. Actual bike racks would be even better, of course but barring that, a decent railing at your destination is a nice find. If the powers that be won't see fit to dot the cityscape with bike racks, someone can lobby for a bunch of small, short handrails to be installed on every sidewalk for pedestrian safety. I'm sure the lawmakers will get right on that.


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Over Hill, Over Dale

Honestly, anytime I venture into Farmington, I am surprised by its existence. That's how far from my daily consciousness the place is. A colleague once spoke of how the trails enabled her father to have an easy commute to work-- a factoid I quickly forgot as this little world had no relevance to my own. Then, after a different coworker raved about the trails -- she is over 60, had not ridden in a long time, and decided to hop on the trails one day, during which she easily, effortlessly rode about 20 miles -- I felt more inspired to see what exists on the other side of Death Avon Mountain.

She directed me to take Route 44, then Route 10, and park in a lot that would be visible fairly quickly. I found the Farmington Valley Trails Council site and stared at the intricate maps for awhile before having a duh moment. She meant going from her house on Route 44, not from Hartford. Finding the parking lot was probably the simplest navigation-related part of this adventure, and before I start hearing all kinds of judgment, Interstatement challenged me to bike to the trail from home before the end of summer. At the lot in Avon, we tried to plan our route by using the posted maps to guide us. In the future, we will print out maps to take along. Some sections of the trail were well-marked; others, not so much. I found myself yearning for the faded ECG emblems painted on the sidewalk in Hartford, if that tells you anything. The most confusing section we encountered was in an area undergoing construction. We kept looking for where the trail continued, only to learn later that we were riding a segment that uses the road. This stretch was not terribly long, but when you have no clue where the trail may or may not pick up, such things seem like an eternity. Just as I was ready for a fullblown meltdown (feeling lost, riding in direct sunlight, and having to pee), we arrived at Stratton Brook State Park. There, we found shade, the path, and a restroom with running water, hallelujah. This park has a beach, places to kill/torture fish, and a few cool bridges. Our original plan was to ride in a loop, going through Collinsville and so forth. So, we continued out of the park, expecting to find clear trails once more. This did not happen. We rode down a very rural road past about ten firetrucks, casually parked there, as if it were their natural setting. Just as I thought I could hear Dueling Banjos in the distance, we came to another small park with picnic tables and a sports field. There was a cool playground that was absolutely deserted.
I find it utterly depressed that kids would rather go to the newfangled plastic-everything-no-sharp-edges-playgrounds than to a little one (next to an equally deserted pond) where there is a metal backhoe with which to dig in the sand. It used to be that getting a bruised knee or removing a splinter was a routine event. Now, if a kid so much as has access to a metal slide, people panic. Being raised in a culture of fear makes it understandable why children are prone to obesity and videogame addiction; they simply are not allowed to have real fun.
We biked a little past the playground to see if there were any signs indicating where we were or if this was the trail. As the road turned into gravel, with no sign of ending, we said to hell with it and turned around. On the way back, we caught more of the bike trail that ran through Stratton Brook. Originally, we had missed the loop turn and had taken the trail North. It looks like it goes to or beyond the stateline, but we did not make it quite that far. This section runs along/through another park and has nice views of the Farmington River. I noted the picnic table which could come in handy on another day.

I was taken aback by how many cyclists were using this trail, as well as how many riders get their kicks apparently training for some race or another. If I want to sweat, I'll just ride downtown during Friday evening rush hour.

We obviously aborted our original plan, but shall return, at least to see if we can navigate the other half of the loop we did not quite get to attempt. Read more!

Legalize(d) It!

Brendan informed us a month ago that biking is now legal in city parks. Have you been exercising your rights?

There have been more bicycles about lately, but since this newly found freedom has not received major press, I doubt it's related to anything except the more enjoyable weather and more expensive gasoline.

Speaking of expensive gasoline, what is with the state capitol police who drive through the park? Aren't we in an economic abyss? If they do not feel like walking or biking laps around Bushnell Park, all they need to do is grab a pair of binoculars and sit on a park bench. It's a park -- get out of the cage and enjoy it!

Something sweet that I've noticed is that on weekends, I man rides with his grandson to the park. I've seen them a few times. The little boy--wearing a motorcycle-type-full-helmet-- rides on the sidewalk while the older man keeps pace next to him on the street. I would love to see more of this intergenerational cycling.
This was the first outing since I added a bell to my bicycle. Lacking the opportunity to use it with purpose, I have been daydreaming of going to Commercial Street in Provincetown, where I can ring it at throngs of pedestrians who make the jaywalkers around the Old State House seem predictable and well-mannered in their habits.






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Is Google taking us for a ride?

Outsourcing does not work.

Not too long ago I was riding in a vehicle with someone who had a GPS -- a device I considered worthless before the trip. The robot voice instructed us, on more than one occasion, to make poor choices, like drive the wrong way down a one-way street. Because I knew the area, we were able to shut the useless device off. Google Maps, another not-so-local entity, is as senseless as a GPS. Give me a potentially outdated atlas any day. At least it's likely to have traffic flow clearly marked.

I know I am supposed to feel gleeful that Google has decided to add the bicycle mapping feature. Already I could request directions for trip taken by car, public transportation, or on foot. Even knowing the way the pedestrian map feature let me down, as it never let me travel through parks or along railroad tracks, I felt a split second of hopefulness and joy.

Google Maps for Bikes (or whatever they're calling it) is worse. Not only do they ignore the ability for bikes to travel through parks (you can map a trip through a small part of Bushnell Park, but not all or even most of it), they ignore that the East Coast Greenway -- a major bike trail! -- goes through the park. So, whether a cyclist wants to follow the ECG or simply take a more scenic route, she can not rely on Google Maps to send her there.

But wait -- there's more! Out of curiosity, I requested directions from home to work. Besides not knowing that the ECG exists, Google Maps instructed me to pull a U-Turn on a one-way street and then backtrack to go up Broad Street, down to Asylum Street, and so forth. Illegal maneuvering aside, this is silly because I could have made a simple left-hand turn from Capitol Avenue onto Broad Street.

I know that some folks think Google can do no wrong and that I should just be patient as they make updates to their database, but I maintain that companies should iron out the wrinkles before, not after, releasing a product. Also, we should stick to making our own maps in the community. If Google can not create common sense instructions, acknowledge a major bicycle path, or recognize one-way streets, how can we trust it to know where construction might be interfering with a route?

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