MOMENTUM

2016 is going to be a banner year for sustainable transportation in Hartford.  To kick off the year I am rolling out BiCi Co. news and programs along with some other bicycle news and opportunities.  Walking and biking (and buses) work just fine through the winter.  The short days and cold months are also perfect for tuning up your rig, learning new skills, and contributing as a volunteer for a BiCi Co. youth program.

Momentum - A Short List for January 2016

• DIY Member Repair Hours at BiCi Co. - These were great in 2015, of course this is going to start right back up in 2016.  Work on your rig, fix up something we've got in the shop, or help someone else out.  Wednesdays 5:30-8:30pm and Saturdays 1:30-5:30pm.  Starting on January 6th.
• BiCi Co. T-Shirts - We just put in the order for our 1st Edition BiCi Co. t-shirts.  These go to our kickoff campaign donors who chose this as a "perk."  We'll have a limited number of extras available for $20 each.  Will let you know when we get them in the shop.
• Earn-a-Bike Teen Program -  Recruiting right now!  13-18 years old.  Starts late in February.  Two meetings a week for 8 weeks.  Bike maintenance skills, safety training, a bit of engineering, safety accessories, and a bike for each participant.  Interested or know a teen that is?  Contact Tony C and you'll be included on the invitation to the EAB orientation.
• Bikes vs Cars - January 11th.  7pm movie at Real Art Ways, 56 Arbor Street.  Followed with brief panel discussion with P&Z Chair, Sara Bronin and others.  Get your tickets at the door.  More info.
• Hartford Zoning Update and Complete Streets Chapter - This is important!  Now you know.  This is the most important 2016 happening in Hartford relative to a step change in how the city works towards sustainable transportation.  Your input and support needed.  Hartford's P&Z Commission has drafted a complete rewrite of zoning regulations.  The draft significantly reduces car parking minimums for new developments, requires bike parking minimums, and gives credit to further reduce car parking with inclusion of bike parking.  There is an entire chapter that captures best practices in Complete Streets and a connected bike route map is included.  Public Comment Session on Tuesday, January 12th at 6pm, 260 Constitution Plaza, Plaza Level Conference Room.  Email P&Z with your comments here if you can't make the session in person.  Or do both!
• IceBike (and Walk) to Work - Friday, January 22nd.  7:00-8:30am.  East Hartford at Maddie's on Main Street.  Hartford at Ashley's on Main Street.  All weather, year round human powered commuters need breakfast.  We meet up and chat during winter months.  January's conversation topic - Skiing vs Winter Riding.  Why do the same folks that drive hours to ski put away their bikes for four months of the year?
• BiCi Co. Volunteers - We need you!  All sorts of volunteer roles and levels of commitment.  Send an email to Tony C to get on the volunteer email list.  Fill out a survey to sign up for January DIY repair hours as a volunteer.  The volunteer support and diversity of skill sharing is what makes BiCi Co. so special.  
• BiCi Co. Job Posting - Coming soon. Stay tuned.  The programs and hours at BiCi Co. are growing in 2016 and we'll be hiring to support that growth.  This is an outgrowth of our 2015 programs, the crowd funding campaign, and grant funding for 2016.  You helped make this happen.
• Inspired to Ride - Thursday, January 21st.  7:30pm at Cinestudio, Trinity College.  Ready for some winter inspiration? Come see a movie with Bike Walk CT. Get tickets online here.  Inspired to Ride, the latest cycling film from the makers of Ride the Divide, follows a handful of cyclists from around the world as they race unsupported in the inaugural year of The Trans Am Bike Race. It's the antithesis to events like Tour de France and Race Across America. There are no teams, no support vehicles, no special jerseys and not a dime in prize money. The event is sponsored by Bike Walk Connecticut. Tickets are $12 in advance and $15 at the door the day of the show. Winter bike movies tend to sell out, so we recommend buying tickets online! Spread the word and invite friends with this event page.

Happy New Year!  Keep up the momentum.  Momentum is a terrible thing to waste.

Keep in touch with BiCi Co. via our Facebook page.

Can't wait to see this t-shirt all over Hartford!

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Time to Start Acting Like a Thirty-Seven Year Old

First - December 1st is Giving Tuesday.  Consider the Center for Latino Progress and their new project, BiCi Co. when you give back.  Hartford has been without a bike shop since 2014.  Our city needs BiCi Co. to support safe, sustainable, and economic transportation for both existing and newly arriving Hartford residents.  BiCi Co. will help transform Hartford into a cycling friendly city, a city where teens can get brakes for their bikes, bike lights, and locks.  Bicycles don't just connect us to destinations, they connect us to new friends and opportunities.  It won't be Heaven, but we'll get closer to it.  Thanks for your support.  Please donate now.

Second - The last Slow Roll of 2015.  Sunday, December 6th.  Meet at 3pm at Majorca (2074 Park Street, near Prospect).  We will ride to BiCi Co., get a short tour, and then back to Majorca for happy hour and appetizers.  If you aren't one for December rides, you can still meet us at Majorca at 4:30pm.  FB event invite - share and invite others.  Did you know that the building that Majorca is in was a Columbia Bicycle factory?  Hartford's bicycle history runs deep.

Third - I had a ridiculous adventure on Friday.  One day after my 37th birthday, Ken K and Brian joined me for an impromptu mixed terrain ride.  Global weirdness put us in the 60's, and it was just too nice to stay indoors.  I lied to Brian and told him we were going to be road riding.  After taking the secret MDC road and jumping the gate that's always closed, we rode toward the Wethersfield meadows.  We may or may not have crossed on the closed Route 3 bridge pedestrian path.  There seem to be gates at both ends with signs saying that, "None shall pass."  

Leaving the secret MDC road.  

Transported to the Glastonbury side of the river, as if by magic, we continued our 'not a road ride' on the dirt roads and double track around Keeney Cove.  Ken K found a large, huge really, slab of Styrofoam and I immediately thought, "That would make a swell raft."  After a test float, I suggested that I would put my bike on the foam raft and see where it would take me.  Ken and Brian thought that was an obvious course of action and helped me shove off.  

This is a great idea!  

Plenty of room for the touring bike and myself. 

Remarkably stable.  Even in the windy chop at the center of the river.

Not the stupidest thing I've ever done.

Closing in on Brainard airfield.  The planes come in low.

The raft was very buoyant, and comfortable to boot.  Plenty of room for both me and the bike.  Rather than floating down river as I had expected, the strong wind pushed me upriver back towards Hartford.  I had a short stick and a longer tree trunk for poling.  The wind took me across the river towards Brainard air field.  I pushed the block up on shore and gathered up a long poly rope that I found tied to a tree.  It seemed like something I might want to have with me on a rafting trip.  I shoved off again.  With my long beard, I didn't want to hazard riding my bike in an airport.  Confusing airport security isn't prudent.  I relaxed on the raft (you can't hurry a raft) and kept going north.  The bend in the river and the wind took me back across towards East Hartford.  A couple of boats zipped by, but neither came over to see what I was up to or if perhaps I needed assistance.  "Oh, just another bike on a Styrofoam block."

The weather was stellar.

I picked up a rope.  Might be useful for a guy on a raft.

 The foam block is now resting on a dock in East Hartford.  I tipped off a couple of artists, as this could be really fun to work with. Imagine carving a sled out of that block.  Or building a giant puppet head.  Or formalizing the raft setup and taking it for a much longer trip next time.  So many possibilities.  If I wasn't neck deep in starting up a community bike shop, I'd be going back tomorrow myself to pick it up.  I consider this a first dibs opportunity to claim the block for a future project.  Not saying exactly where this is, but you can probably figure it out.

That looks like a good place to land.

Another photo for scale.

After landing, I kept riding.  There is a concrete flood wall behind the East Hartford water treatment plant that I only have the guts to ride every tenth time.  This was that time.  I was feeling pretty good about the foam block ride, so I rode the wall.  The Hockanum River Trail was pretty empty, as per usual.  An under used gem of a trail that starts behind East Hartford town hall.  A quick stop at the top of Wickham Park, and one of my favorite fast descents down the sledding hill.  Some coffee and a muffin at the Riverfront rounded out what may have been the best ride of the year.  It's hard to compare rides, but this was by far the most unique.  I feel closer to Mark Twain today.  It's time I start acting like a thirty-seven year old.

A new spot for graffiti.  I hadn't looked under this bridge before.

Riding the wall makes my tummy feel funny.

One of the better views of Hartford, and a nice ride to get here.

Amazing that the weather was so pleasant today.  Soaked up all the Vitamin D.

Nothing to see here.  The article is done, but since you're so thorough, you should go over to the BiCi Co. membership and fundraising page and make a sizable donation.  Wink.

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Bike Safety Education in Hartford - Ready for Spring!

Last week I had my bike in the basement to wipe off the salt crust and install much needed fenders.  Despite year round commuting, I'll be welcoming Spring with open arms.  Riding on the ice and snow is an exciting challenge.  My bicycle is as reliable as I need it to be.  Unlike a car, I can pick it up rather and carry it over snow banks.  The extra resistance of knobby, studded tires helps keep off the winter weight while the sunshine (what little there is) keeps my spirits up.  With all the things I enjoy about winter riding, I can't wait for my favorite off road shortcuts to open back up.  I yearn for the days when it is warm enough that I don't have to plan and layer clothing for the trip.  Can I get an amen?

This was a new one.  My first traffic jam / broken down vehicle issue.

As others prepare to get their lonely bicycles out of storage, we are announcing a timely bicycle skills and safety training course in Hartford.  Traffic Skills 101 will be offered on Sunday, April 12th.  The course is partnered with Bike Walk Connecticut and will train 15-20 cyclists in critical skills that will keep them safer on the road.  This is a comprehensive full day course that includes classroom time, Q&A, basic bike mechanics, parking lot drills, and an on-road ride.  The class has sold out every time and we only hold a couple each year.  Register early and save the date.

TRAFFIC SKILLS 101 - Hartford

WHEN:  Sunday, April 12, 2015, 7:45 am to 5 pm

WHERE:   Thomas W Raftery, 1055 Broad Street, Hartford (corner of Broad and Jefferson). 

COST:  Bike Walk CT members:  $50; Nonmembers:  $65

INSTRUCTORS:  Tony Cherolis and Rob O'Connor, both League Certified Instructors (LCIs)

REGISTRATION IS OPEN

Community Discount for Hartford Residents.  The instructors are offering two spots in this TS101 course (first come, first served) at $20 to Hartford residents, self-declared limited income.  The intent of the discounted registration is to spread bike education beyond those that can afford a $50 or $65 course.  Hartford is a city with a large number of folks getting by working a lot of hours, for not much pay.  A significant number of Hartford residents don't choose their bicycle for transportation.  A bicycle just happens to be one of the most cost effective ways to get around.  For someone on a limited income $20 could be manageable.  We're also open to any companies and organizations that would like to donate funds to sponsor community attendees.  Send me an email @or call (860-204-2704), if you are interested in the Community Member discounted registration.

LEAGUE CYCLING INSTRUCTOR SEMINAR

The TS101 course is a prerequisite for taking a much more intensive multi-day course for League Cycling Instructors.  The Hartford TS101 is your last chance to fulfill the prerequisite requirement before taking the instructor weekend long seminar in Simsbury the following weekend.  The LCI course is very intense and only recommended to serious participants that want to go on and continue teaching.  You can register online for this course, but you'll have to prove that you've completed (or you're registered) for the TS101 course.  You also have to pass both TS101 and the LCI course to become a certified instructor.

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IceBike - Operation Polar Vortex

Hardy cyclists riding through the winter have been socializing monthly in East Hartford for breakfast at Maddie's and this month we're expanding to Downtown Hartford.  It's important that we band together and practice our conversation skills.  Riding through the winter is considered weird enough that others may start giving you a wider berth at work.  Not sure why Hartford metro is so allergic to winter cycling, as it seems that other interesting cities (Boston, Chicago, NYC, Montreal, Minneapolis, Fort Collins, Madison) aren't so fickle.  There is even an official global Winter Bike to Work Day, where you can commit to ride on February 13th.

Ken K on the Bissel Bridge.  It's better now.

This month's IceBike theme is "How Cold Will You Go?"  January is the frigid month and many folks have their lowest temperature limit.  Let's push that limit a little further.  Much to discuss about how to dress and get comfortable at colder temps.  Personally, I've found that my limiting spots are my hands and face.  Fortunately there is a whole industry supplying skiers with gear that handles very similar challenges to winter cycling.   With a good pair of ski mittens and a snowboarding helmet with ear flaps (and even goggles), one can get comfortable at arctic conditions. 

These breakfasts are an informal and flexible meetup to carry bike commuting through the winter and hopefully increase alternative sustainable transportation in the region.  All alternate transport commuters are welcome.  It is entirely reasonable to take bus transit, walk, car/vanpool, or take the train, and having that flexibility in your commute method helps cut down on single occupancy car use.  If you just want to stop by for winter cycling tips we've got you covered.  Bicycle commuters are generally stoked to share the tips they've learned the hard way to save others the trouble.  We'll see you out there!

IceBike to Work

Friday, January 23rd

Maddie's in East Hartford

Right across from Pratt & Whitney on Main Street

6:45AM - 8:15AM 

Jojo's in Downtown Hartford

Pratt Street, just off Main Street

7:00AM - 8:30AM

VERY IMPORTANT - In advocacy news, your attendance and public comment is desperately needed on Wednesday, January 21st.  The informational and public comment meeting is conveniently located at the Hartford Public Library with an open house (general chatting and looking at maps) starting at 3PM.  The presentation starts at 5:30PM.  Want to fill seats with cyclists (bring your helmets inside), walkers, and transit users.  Very important to look at this project as an opportunity to stitch our community and neighborhoods back together.  The CT DOT now has an adopted Complete Streets policy.  Let's make sure the I-84 plans are safe for all road users, particularly where the entrance and exit ramps hit neighborhood streets.  More information at www.I84hartford.com.

PROGRESS - For some reason you're still reading.  Here at the bitter end I'll give our veritable BBB contributor Salem and other bike advocates credit for hassling the CT DOT until they got serious about snow and ice clearing on the bike/ped sidewalks along Connecticut River highway bridges.  In years past the I-91 Bissel Bridge between Windsor and South Windsor was a mess of three foot tall ice piles that would last well into the Spring.  The CT DOT now recognizes that they are legally required (by statute) to clear the bridge.  It took several years of contacts from Bike Walk CT and local bicycle commuters, but progress has been made.  I even saw salt laid down on my daily route across the Charter Oak Bridge.  In previous years the Charter Oak bridge was plowed, but still had a 1/2-1" thick icy layer remaining during snowy weeks.  Not having a large icy patch at the downhill turn on the Hartford side is much appreciated.  Keep up the good work folks.  Thanks to Salem, CT DOT, and the DOT Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board.  It feels like the recently adopted Complete Streets policy is actually affecting a welcome cultural shift.

  

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Ice Bike (or Walk) to Work

Don't put your bikes away yet.  Ride them all year long.  It's just a question of appropriate outerwear and lights.  It blows my mind that folks think I'm daft for riding my bike the short 3 1/2 miles to work through the winter.  The same folks that can't understand winter cycling will drive two hours each way to go skiing in exactly the same (or colder) conditions for hours.  Who's daft now?

A couple years ago I started organizing a monthly informal breakfast meetup for winter bike commuters in East Hartford.  We invite everyone, but usually only get Pratt & Whitney folks.  I can't figure out why no one from Goodwin College rides to work or comes to the Bike to Work events.  Goodwin even has free loaner bikes for faculty and staff to get from one to another campus building without driving.

Bike commuters typically love all the sustainable travel modes. If you walk to work, take the bus, carpool, or vanpool we'd love to see you at Maddie's on Thursday.  Many cyclists that have gone car free or car light use a variety of transportation modes to get around.  You can research your options here - www.ctrides.com.  If you're interested in bus transit options, you can look up routes and times on CT Transit.

East Hartford IceBike to Work - December

Thursday, December 18th from 6:45AM to 8:00AM 

Maddie's Diner at 395 Main Street

Across from P&W near Subway

Facebook Invite

November IceBike had 8 riders!

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How do you get to Dinner?

Ride to the Bike Walk CT Dinner

Meetup in Hartford - Bike Ride to CCSU

Monday, November 24th

Leaving 4:45PM from DEEP near Bushnell Park

(79 Elm St, Hartford, CT 06106)

Dress warm and bring lights.  It's about 15 miles each way.

Bike Walk Connecticut has an Annual Dinner each November.  It's a wonderful event.  There is an expansive silent auction of donated items.  You won't find a higher concentration of active transportation advocates anywhere else in Connecticut.  It's refreshing since we are still largely a car centric state, even in our urban centers.  You will come away inspired.  This year's speaker is Dan Haar, who walked across CT bit by bit on Route 44, writing about the journey in the Hartford Courant.

8 bikes - on a below freezing morning.  Low impact healthy travel.

Curiously very few actually ride their bikes (or walk) to the dinner.  That's the current state of bicycle commuting in Connecticut.  The percentage of bike trips from point A to B is less than 1%, and that means that many bicycling advocates don't ride their bikes that often for transportation, particularly on a cold and dark winter evening.  While living in Urbana, Illinois, now a Gold Bicycle Friendly Community, the bicycle commuting didn't stop for Winter.  If you've ever traveled to Chicago, NYC, or Boston, they don't stop cycling either.  What's different about Connecticut?  Are CT cyclists wimps?

Well, this isn't okay.  We know that metro Hartford citizens are hearty.  They drive hours to ski in the same weather and temperatures that stop bicycle commuting dead in its tracks.  I think it's basically a cultural stumbling block.  "Of course.  You can't bike in the winter.  That would be crazy."  The outfit required to handle the cold is greeted with disbelief.  "My aerodynamic spandex wouldn't be warm enough and what about my silly plastic racing shoes?"    Its damn easy folks.  Put some flat pedals on, and wear footwear and clothes similar to what you might wear outside walking on a windy day or skiing.  Good gloves are nice and you might need a balaclava to keep the wind off your face and ears.  To demonstrate that winter cycling is in fact possible, even when attending a semi-fancy dinner, we'll be meeting up as a group on Monday night and riding over to the dinner, making room for the calories we are about to consume.

On the topic of promoting year round active transportation, we held our first IceBike to Work of the season this past Friday in East Hartford at the diner across the street from Pratt & Whitney.  Eight folks showed up, and two were women.  That's actually a milestone for IceBike.  The first P&W women I've seen bike commute in the winter.  It's super easy to set up an IceBike breakfast.  Just pick a diner and send out a meeting notice.  You can send it your local cycling club and post it up on the Facebook.  It's a low key event, and you pay your own way.  No pesky sponsors or organizing headaches.  Just a friendly breakfast and coffee while your face-icles melt. I challenge someone from Hartford and West Hartford to do the same.  It's rather embarrassing when East Hartford is leading the way.

PS - A couple of last minute tickets for the dinner may be available.  They added another table of ten.

Notice the WSD frame.  Ladies bike commuting to P&W in the winter!

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Learning the Hard Way

Here's a question to get you thinking.  How did you learn to cross railroad tracks at a ninety degree angle?  Did you learn about the safer method in gym class at school, during your driver education course, or via a public safety announcement?  Probably not.  If you're like me, you learned the hard way - by having your bicycle abruptly disappear and finding yourself pitched head first into the traffic lane.  I won't forget that lesson, but I would rather have learned it minus the crash.  This is but one example of many dangerous situations that arise for cyclists that haven't taken a course in cycling safety.  Based on the crash data, just knowing what those dangerous situations are and having a basic safe cycling skill set can address a large majority of the risk in using a bicycle - for both transportation and recreation.

There is a dearth (scarcity) of education for cyclists that are looking for information and skills on how to ride safely and competently.  From  grade school through teenage years and into adulthood,  there really isn't embedded education that familiarizes cyclists with the tools needed to ride safely.  Imagine if a fraction of the time and effort spent teaching teens how to drive was dedicated to education on safe cycling, pedestrian safety, and transit.  The focus on one preferred means of transportation, the car, biases those teens toward driving as the socially acceptable option.   It also leaves those that choose to do something other than drive a car pretty clueless.  As captured in the introduction, I initially took the clueless route to earning my stripes as an occasionally bruised, but now much safer, bicycle commuter.

It's clearly not efficient, or safe, to learn how to ride by screwing up a lot and gathering advice in bits and pieces from other more experienced riders.  After a lifetime of going about this the hard way, I took Traffic Skills 101 (TS101) and followed that up with the League Cycling Instructor (LCI) training.  Now I can do my part to spread some very powerful information by teaching Traffic Skills 101 to other riders.  The next course in Hartford is planned for Sunday, March 30th.   You can register online through Bike Walk Connecticut.  If you want to spread the word about the TS101 course, you should invite others to this Facebook Event.

Traffic Skills 101 is a  comprehensive, full-day program for adults and mature teens who want to improve their street riding skills and increase their cycling knowledge. The course includes classroom time, parking lot drills, and a road ride.   Many different types of cyclists will benefit from taking TS101.  It is ideal for cyclists who want to build upon the basics, those returning to cycling from a long hiatus, people who want to be more independent on their bike, and those looking for more confidence cycling in traffic. The class also satisfies the requirements to pursue a League Cycling Instructor certification through the League of American Bicyclists.

Part of the reason for holding this early Spring course is to support the League Cycling Instructor course planned for April 17th through April 20th in Simsbury.  The LCI course is a specialized bicycle boot camp to train the trainers, and it is intense.  Those that pass the weekend course go on to teach courses like TS101 and other critical courses, including school based programs that have started in several CT communities, such as South Windsor and Simsbury.  Educating children and teens about bicycle safety is part of the solution to allow a safe transition toward a less car dependent future.

I'm also excited to be organizing a June 7th event in Hartford, Dinner and Bikes.  There will be a vegan buffet dinner, bicycle short films, and a book talk by Elly Blue on Bikenomics, How Bicycling Can Save the Economy.  More info to follow in a later post, but make sure you leave that Saturday night open.  Put it on your calendars now, as I know June can be a busy month.

Note to Loyal BBB Readers - I would love if all 9 of you would share in the comments something  you "Learned the Hard Way".  It doesn't even have to be about cycling.  I've got so many that I could write a book.

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Crashing is Okay

It's that time of year again when folks at work look at the bicycle commuter with a head tilt and ask, "You didn't ride in today, did you?"  I'm toying with escalating ridiculousness in my response.  "No.  Actually I decided to ice skate."  Or, "Riding a bicycle in the winter is the stupidest thing I've ever heard of.  Do you think I'm an idiot?  I stole my neighbor's car today."  I'd be interested to hear responses from other year round commuters when this perennial question returns each winter.

As an experienced user of the bicycle, my own two feet, transit, and even the occasional car, I should be patient in my treatment of those that ask seasonal and weather related questions that can seem repetitive.  The asker of the question doesn't realize they aren't asking a novel question and therefore don't expect or deserve my impatience.  In truth the question is welcome.  If I can find a way to twist the answer in a way that catches the person's attention or makes them think, perhaps they too will look critically at their rampant single occupancy vehicle trips.   As a friend of mine likes to remind me, clever assholes don't change many minds.

On the topic of changing trends, I've seen several more winter bicycle commuters at Pratt & Whitney.  Studded tires even.  Tomorrow will be a good test of these hardy souls with the low teens and 2-4" of snow predicted.  I received several email from co-workers disappointed that the bicycle racks near their building had been removed.  Curious,  I've dropped a note to our Facilities department who may not have realized that bicycles work in cold weather too.

The CT DOT seems to forget each year that the bicycle and pedestrian crossings adjacent to the Connecticut River highway bridges also need to be cleared of snow and ice.  Eight lanes of highway can be bone dry the day after a storm, but the eight feet of multi-use path can be left for weeks unless pestering ensues.  The level of clearing doesn't match that of the highway lanes.  For example the Charter Oak Bridge was plowed, but a 1" deep layer of dense and icy remainder was left along the entire length of the crossing.  No salt or grit in sight.  There is a tight downhill turn on this crossing, and even with studs the ice can be tricky to navigate.

That brings me to my final topic.  Crashing.  I crash.  On Saturday I spent several hours riding with Salem on my Kona with studded 700x35 Nokians.  They are a bit slow and noisy, and klunky for handling on dry pavement, but they significantly reduce my crashing in the winter.  We hit the perfect level of snow on the ground, smoothing out the trails and quieting my tires.

Later in the afternoon I thought it would be fun to take my fixed gear Schwinn out for an in town trip.  It was fun, and I got to practice locking up the back tire.  Feeling pretty good about my traction and having leaned turns all morning I headed into an intersection.  The slick tires didn't do any good at all in a hard right turn on a 1/2" of packed street snow.  Sliding sideways on my hip, I sprung up and did a little "I'm okay.  Enjoy the show!" dance for the concerned onlookers.  A friendly fellow picked up my fractured rear reflector and made sure I wasn't injured.  Fortunately I've entirely given up on pride, so no other damage was sustained.  When crashing on snow you typically slide, a good way to bleed off the forward momentum.

Crashing is okay, and it can be fun.  If I didn't do it often, it would probably hurt more when it happened on rare occasion.  Falling down is part of the human condition.  It's how you get up that matters.

More hardy P&W bicycle commuters confusing their co-workers this year.

Salem leads the way

Hopefully South Windsor's Bissell Bridge will be cleared more regularly this winter 

This is what happens when you forget you're not on snow tires.

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Wintry Mix

This past week is best described as a wintry mix.  Midwest, and the Northeast.  Small towns, no towns, tents in the wilderness, and back to the big city.  Hiking, biking, flying, driving, and buses.  Amazing graffiti. Ice and leaves.  Slippery rocks.  A really heavy bike that never should have existed, but did.

Crowd source funded bicycle graffiti in Urbana, IL.

I've been toying with this crowd source funded graffiti concept in Hartford.  If any CT local graffiti artists think this would be neat, get in touch with me.  Sort of like a mural (getting paid) but with the artistic freedom of a graffiti piece.  I've got a venue that is interested and could help publicize.  Lately I've been all about the Tavis / Skan stuff, which we saw a lot of today in Rocky Hill.

Beautiful sandstone canyon in Southern Illinois.

You wouldn't expect there to be massive cliffs, sandstone canyons, and mountain lions in Illinois.  I can confirm the first two, and the third is a maybe based on the eviscerated deer we stumbled upon while free-hiking in the Shawnee National Forest.  Valerie and I spent a couple of days hiking and winter camping over the holiday week.  It was awesome.  No one was there.  It might have been the frigid temperatures that resulted in our private camping and hiking experiences.  On night two of camping, I awoke with frozen condensation on my sleeping bag.  First rule of having fun - nobody died.

Back in Urbana, IL, I caught up with Joel at The Bike Project and put some time in on one of the oddest bikes I've come across.  This so-heavy steel rig from White Auto Inc was outfitted with some truly obscure Shimano components.  A rear disc brake was mounted by way of a self tapping screw.  The Shimano Positron shifter and rear derailleur were actuated by two cables - and indexed.  If it weren't for the inherent shitty quality of the rig, I might have adopted it.  The rear wheel had a radial hop of 1/4" and the front fork was misaligned, and I expect both were that way when the bike was new.  It served it's purpose as a loaner bike for a couple days, and was put back into TBP circulation.

White Auto Inc.  WTF?  Swedish tyres.

The top tube sticker had texture, like leather, to make it look fancy.

Yes.  This is a Shimano disc brake.  And that adjustment knob is a non-functional cover for the actual adjustment underneath.  More WTF.

And the Shimano Positron rear derailleur had two cables with a ball bearing for indexing.  WTF x 3.

Lovely mat brown finish.  

The Bradley Flyer is awesome.  Although the schedule can be sparse.

On my way back to Hartford, I caught the last bus back from Bradley to downtown Hartford.  If you are a downtown resident, the Bradley Flyer is awesome.  For $1.30 you get an express bus trip from Hartford to the airport.  Way cheaper than the $40 cab ride or parking a car at the airport.   The only drawback is that the schedule is sparse on the weekends and still not great during peak travel times.  It would serve Hartford well to increase the frequency of the airport express bus.  It would be way cheaper than something like Fastrak and I think the convention, tourism, and resident benefits would be significant.

On Sunday Josh and I wandered South and Southwest from Hartford.  I crashed on some slippery rocks and there was much graffiti and train tracks.  On the topic of graffiti, there is a final public input session on the Hartford Downtown North plan on Wednesday, Dec 11th at the Hartford Public Library.  You should go, and make sure that Heaven gets proper representation.

I heart graffiti.

And heart it even more when it incorporates existing features of the structure.

Sometimes a border catches your eye.

Josh really likes cracking ice that is suspended above the ground.

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Tomorrow, I wear gloves

Brendan put on a great Eel and there was much bike diversity and trail diversity.  Only at an Eel will there be a Huffy and a Peter Mooney with pretty much everything in between.  I was nervous for Dario's skinny tires, but I think he only weighs 100 lbs - and they were sew ups.  We rode train tracks, rooty single track, sheer rock ridge, flood plain powder silt, sand pits, river bluffs, mud truck stomping ground, banked quad tracks, and even some paved roads.  The length of the ride was perfect.  Tired, but not bonked.

This is a time of change.  Change of season.  Change of outlook.  Changing out my summer clothes for the bin of wool socks and layers.  Putting on gloves in the morning and considering when it will be time to christen my new winter shoes.  Cold weather is a welcome change to me.   It gives me an excuse to pull out the feather comforter and double up my socks.  Things summer just won't support.  Tomorrow morning will be in the 30's and I'll get out the light gloves.

The Eel busted my saddle rail, but Terry said they would warranty.  Excellent.

As a bicycle commuter, I've found that hands are my first priority.  Holding onto the handlebar and actuating the brakes are activities requiring at least some functionality in my fingers.  Appropriate gloves are key to keeping my hands in a condition that isn't just comfortable, but useful.  Skiing mittens are capable down to about 5F, and they seem to work with both bar-cons and brifters.  Below that, I've heard that folks use silly looking Pogies to keep the wind off their mitts.  At that point, I typically just take a walk and put my hands in my pockets.

Feet are second, and become more important if the ride gets to be more than a half hour.  During the winter in Connecticut the roads are often clear and I'll go out for multi-hour rides with the temperature in the teens or 20's.  I'm seriously addicted to clipless pedals, which are evil when it comes to heat conduction away from your feet.  This summer (looking for sales) I upgraded to Lake MXZ303 boots.  They look much hardier than any other winter cycling shoe I've ridden, and I bought up a couple sizes for extra wool sock layers.  I have a suspicion that this year will be nearly into the comfort zone for my feet, whereas last year there was some near frostbite.  I'm getting ahead of myself.  It's not that cold out yet, and if you're bagging you bicycle commute right now you are an intolerable wimp.

In honor of the change of season I'll be making the work-a-day-commute a little less lonely with the first IceBike to Work of the season.  Thursday, October 31st, we will be informally meeting for breakfast at Maddie's in East Hartford.  Maddie's is on Main Street, right across the street from Pratt & Whitney.  Anyone passing by on bicycle, walking, or just curious about non-car transportation modes can stop by between 7AM-8AM and they will find some folks to chat with.  It seems the folks in Canada really take their winter bicycle commuting seriously.  They have an international conference or some such in February - International Cycling Congress.  Registration for the conference is north of $300 - that is f'ing serious.


Reminders for some upcoming bicycle goodness:

• Aforementioned IceBike to Work on Thursday, October 31st.
• There is this mysterious under promoted cyclocross race on November 5th in Colt Park.  I live right next to Colt Park, so I guess I'll wander down there to see what kinds of carbon, cross specific curiosities show up.
• Sunday, November 10th.  Traffic Skills 101 Course.  Taught by yours truly and the honorable Chris Brown.  Registration is open, but capped at 20 students.  Last I heard we already had 11 registered.
• Tuesday, November 12th.  Bike Walk Connecticut Annual Dinner and Silent Auction.  If you want to get a seat at my table let me know.  All you have to do is hand me two double sawbucks.

Everybody loves riding the train tracks into Middletown.

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Found Things

Everyone likes finding things.  Well, finding good things.  Finding things like bed bugs or dog shit on your shoe.  Those aren't good things.  I found some very good things this past weekend.  Kristen and I went for a drizzly ride Saturday through the cemetery.  I was interested in checking out the quarry that was fog shrouded when I last passed this way.  It's an enormous quarry and has an overlook that is worthy of a future picnic.  I can't believe this exists so damn close to Hartford proper.  You can find it too if you wander out through the far south westerly corner of Cedar Hill Cemetery.  As with many found things, don't get caught finding it.

Brendan and I rode South on Sunday afternoon.  He was intent on finding his way to Castle Craig.  Castle Craig is, "reportedly the highest mountain within 25 miles of the coastline from Cadillac Mountain in Maine to Florida."  At just 1000 feet above sea level that isn't particularly impressive, but it was still a bit of a climb for an over wintering cyclist.  The view, although misty, was still impressive.  There was a goodly amount of icy slush for the last several hundred feet of roadway, which was rather fun to ride / sled down on road bikes.

And on the way back from the Meriden area, I spotted a lonely cold beverage on the side of the road.  Abandoned.  I adopted it.  Very refreshing and the small calorie boost was appreciated.

For those that like riding (relatively fast) in the winter and think bike advocacy (or just hanging out with cross racing monsters) is a good time, the Tim Johnson Ride on Washington is coming up.  They pass through Hartford (April 24th), have some beers, spend the night, and then ride on to NYC the next day (April 25th).  They are totally cool with you riding in with them or leading them out.  If you want to donate money or contact your legislator in honor of the National Bike Summit in Washington D.C., that's cool too.  As I get more information I'll post it here.  You can also follow their 2013 plans on Facebook.

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IceBike to Work and Stuff

I've been riding studded tires all week.  They sound funny and make me go slow.  I get over the slow going frustration by reasoning that I'm riding less over he winter and therefore my fitness level benefits from a little extra resistance.

Went out a couple times during and after the storm this weekend.  Was amazing.  Confused by neighbors who seem to have holed up in their apartments for the entire weekend.  When they tell the grandkids about the "Blizzard of '13", its going to be about how they sat on their butts and watched cable TV and spent endless hours posting pictures and commenting on Facebook photos of their hopelessly buried cars.  I just now whimsically wished it has snowed concrete.  That way we could start fresh.

On Friday, this Friday the 15th, there will be two IceBike to Work breakfast meetups in Hartford area.  One in East Hartford at Maddie's from 7-8AM, and the other in Hartford at JoJo's from 7:30-8:30AM.   It appears that some folks in cold places are trying to make February 15th the national day for promoting this sort of thing.  This month, let's talk about Bike to Work events.  Do they make a difference in the number of bicycle commuters?   Why doesn't Brendan like them?   

And if you haven't yet - you need to bother your state representative or senator to make sure this truly disheartening bill that requires single file riding doesn't go anywhere.  There is also a Vulnerable User bill that is goodness for pedestrians and cyclists.   Bike Walk CT has been pushing the Vulnerable User bill for several years now, and they think they will be able to get it through the wickets in 2013. 

The pictured bike is a 1971 Schwinn Traveler 3-Spd that I just built up.  Shiny.  All stock at this point although I'll probably replace the tires and saddle.  I just love getting my hands on old barn kept bikes in good condition.  Trying to decide if this become my daily beater, or if I sell it...

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