Blocked

I don't do "heartfelt" or "sentimental," so the plethora of gratitude posts/articles leading up to and on Thanksgiving always infect me with good old-fashioned alienation and bitterness. People who do not have a fractured relationship with their families do not get this; so, it's been a week or so of knee-deep guilt and general annoyance. After all, a lot of these same people who love to talk about gratitude run out the next day to be rude to fellow beings at the shopping malls, nevermind support the Black Friday nonsense that requires minimum wage workers to report in at three a.m., forcing them to leave their own Thanksgiving dinners early so that they can take a nap before work.

What does this have to do with bicycles?

My pissy mood lifted enough today to recognize my gratitude for being able to ride a bike and for owning a decent one. This allows me to ride faster than the speed of street harassment. I can travel more safely late at night by myself. My brakes work.

Recognizing this, I took a shorter-than-expected jaunt down by the Connecticut River. When we begin to get snow and ice, I am switching from my Jenny to Starry Starry Bike, with the intention of maintaining Jenny's good looks and lack of saltiness. I had not even reached Downtown before realizing that I would have been better prepared for the ride with a balaclava and thermos of hot chocolate.

The ride to the river is always interesting. I cut through Sheldon-Charter Oak and South Meadows, which means passing buildings and beings that have both seen better days. The Capewell Horse Nail Factory and Colt Armory are two such places. As for the people, this area has a number of homeless shelters and soup kitchens, and it's along the highway and railroad, which some live along. I guess this traces back to gratitude too, because I live in a community where we actually have services and resources for the hungry, homeless, and ex-offenders. It might be uneasy at times to ride on past, but at least we are not outsourcing our "problems" for others to deal with.

Arriving at the secret creepy entrance to the Riverwalk, I saw the gate was closed and I could find no way around it. I suppose I could have jumped it and lifted my Jenny overhead, but honestly, that was a lot of effort to put forth on a Sunday morning. I figured I'd just ride on the roads further, go into Charter Oak Landing, and hook up with the path there.


What I discovered was that the path was obstructed by construction equipment. My assumption and hope is that they are finally getting around to completing Riverwalk South, the unpaved section of path between Charter Oak Landing and Mortensen Riverfront Plaza. It's never been too difficult to either ride or push my bike up the unpaved part, but as much as I might think I'm the center of the universe, other people may actually want to use this path, including the elderly and those in wheelchairs. What I learned over Thanksgiving vacation is that the elderly do not enjoy off-roading it through any parks. In fact, slightly uneven sidewalks can make them cranky.

I was hoping the Riverfront Recapture website would have more information on the project, but there's nothing more than a vague reference to the plans.

Circling back, I got distracted by something I wanted to take a photo of and ended up heading the wrong way on a one-way street. This would not be a big deal except that after I was halfway down the street, people came pouring out of a Polish church and I found myself standing on the sidewalk, with my bike, just waiting for the street gridlock to subside.

Thinking I'd get something more out of this, I tried to find coffee and a snack Downtown, but unless I wanted a F.B.S. there was nothing for me. The Sunday after a holiday is reason for all the good places (anything but DD) to shut down.

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Bikes Outside: All The Single Speedies

This morning brings the bike-spotting lense back to La Paloma Sabanera for another Bikes Outside two-fer-one special.

Standing proud at the corner of Capitol and Babcock, this shiny Mercier looked brand-spanking new and was drawing a fair amount of attention. A neighborhood kid walking by as I snapped a picture said, "That's a sexy bike!" Elementary school-aged kids rating the sex appeal of anything is either mildly unsettling or a somewhat obscure Jhumpa Lahiri reference. Come to think of it, he might have actually called it a "sexy-ass bike." I dunno what constitutes an "ass bike", but I'm still fairly certain his statement was quite complimentary.

This fresh powder blue single speed was rockin' a flip-flop rear wheel that was flipped (or is it flopped-- I always forget which is which) to the freewheelin' side, so the bike features a brake, unlike last week's brakeless freewheeling urban attack Mongoose.

At the next signpost (can we get a bike rack here already?), I saw another blue single speed, this time a fixed-gear Schwinn Madison. I know of at least two blue Madisons in Hartford, but this is the only one with facial hair. This mustachioed brakeless fixie has more of a rough-and ready look about it. This bike has definitely accumulated some miles, and I mean that in a good way. Perhaps the third graders in my neighborhood would call this a "Ridden-ass bike" though that phrase lacks the smooth phonetic flow of the other compliment. The cow horn handlebars look like a home-brewed drop bar chop & flop, based on the inverted Bontrager logo. DIY FTW!

I briefly met and chatted with the bikes' owners inside the coffee shop and was having a good conversation when I was recruited by La Paloma's owner to help unload a new refrigerator. As I showed my commitment to supporting my favorite local haunt and eating unspoiled food, the young pair left to continue riding and enjoying the beautiful weather, and really, who could blame them? It has been awfully nice outside these past few days.
Have a great week and enjoy this lovely-ass weather.


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Being thankful

People often complain about the bike and pedestrian infrastructure in the Hartford area. I generally disagree, though I generally disagree with everyone.


Friday and Saturday, I was in suburban DC (Wheaton, MD) visiting my grandma. I went for a walk on Saturday evening around 7pm and I was bowled over by how terrible the traffic is. All the main roads have six lanes and are always busy. I have no idea how you'd get anywhere without a car. The Metro stop was maybe two miles away, but all the roads that bring you there and six lanes of dangerous. The only road like that around here is rt 44. I guess Hartford is pretty good.

Dario and I took a ride today and almost all of the roads were pleasant.
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Of Coffee, Cycles, and Council

Come check out an alley cat in New Haven this Saturday. You'd think with the coffee theme that it'd be at like 6am, but thankfully it's in the afternoon. We're gonna try to make it down. The Scorchers got more to say on their blog.

Also, for those interested in the saga that is the Hartford City Council, tune into channel 96. I'd live blog it, but that doesn't really have any place on blog about bikes. Read more!

Your Bicycle Picture of the Day.

Found this on one of my new favorite websites, Copenhagen Cycle Chic. Its how I dream Hartford will look someday, designated bike-only lanes, bike-only parking with full racks, and coffee shops with outside seating and without purple and orange logos. The fact that its raining and these bikers are out and about makes it even better. Pinch me.
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