So I half-stumbled into leading a Bike Commuting Workshop at the Fair Trade Festival next month in downtown Norfolk, and found myself asking newbie commuters, "What would you want to learn? What do you need to know in order to commute confidently?"
Yes, everyone needs to know how to ride predictably in order to be able to safely share the road with cars, but time and again I was asked about safe bike routes around Norfolk.
So folks, I present the Bike Friendly Norfolk Map:
As I said, this is the beta version. There's still a fair bit of tweaking that needs to be done on the map to make it more user-friendly. If you've got suggestions on routes & such, please let me know. We'll have the final version ready for the Fair Trade Fest, Saturday, December 1st. The Bike Commuting Workshop will be from 11-1.
I also created an online version of the Bike Friendly Norfolk Map on wayfaring.com. However wayfaring.com doesn't allow for selecting route colors, so it's more difficult to convey road information. But if anybody out there is web-savvy enough to do that sort of stuff, let me know...
It seems like at least once a year I hear about another cyclist getting hit by a car on Shore Drive in Virginia Beach, as happened to Maxine Roberts last week. Which reminds me of why Tom Coghill canceled the Celebration of Life bike ride in VA Beach- the municipal government is biased towards cars, and is unwilling to spend the money to actually create safe cycling infrastructure. The safest place for a bicycle in Virginia Beach is on the back of a Hummer.
Folks, if you want to see this sad state affairs change, then you've gotta get out there and do something about it. Riding your bike is a good start. Lobbying city council is even better. Join a cycling advocacy group, and get active!
This whole story just raises too many questions- like, were there no sheep around?
From the BBC...
A [Scottish] man caught trying to have sex with his bicycle has been sentenced to three years on probation.
Robert Stewart, 51, admitted a sexually aggravated breach of the peace by conducting himself in a disorderly manner and simulating sex.
Sheriff Colin Miller also placed Stewart on the Sex Offenders Register for three years.
Mr Stewart was caught in the act with his bicycle by cleaners in his bedroom at the Aberley House Hostel in Ayr, [Scotland].
Gail Davidson, prosecuting, told Ayr Sheriff Court: "They knocked on the door several times and there was no reply.
"They used a master key to unlock the door and they then observed the accused wearing only a white t-shirt, naked from the waist down.
"The accused was holding the bike and moving his hips back and forth as if to simulate sex."
Both cleaners, who were "extremely shocked", told the hostel manager who called police.
Sheriff Colin Miller told Stewart: "In almost four decades in the law I thought I had come across every perversion known to mankind, but this is a new one on me. I have never heard of a 'cycle-sexualist'."
Stewart had denied the offence, claiming it was caused by a misunderstanding after he had too much to drink.
The bachelor had been living in the hostel since October 2006 after moving from his council house in Girvan, [Scotland].
Once again, Steve and the Eastern Virginia Mountain Bike Association put on a great race. Even though we had more rain in the week leading up to the race then we had seen in months, the course was still almost as dry as could be, and was a real joy to ride.
I had signed up for the inaugural "Duo-Enduro" category with my buddy Rob, a six-hour tag team race. I've been playing around with on-bike video cameras, and even purchased a little ATC-2K helmet-cam from the guys at Oregon Scientific. I loaded up on batteries and memory cards, and hoped for the best.
My plan had been that while Rob was riding his laps, I would hang out at the pit and get to shoot some footage of the race scene. But not twenty minutes after the start Rob rolled in to the pit and said, "Dude, you gotta ride for me. I think I broke my finger."
"What? You're kidding!"
"Nope, I'm not," Rob said, and pulled off his left glove to expose a compound pinky fracture. Just to confirm that, indeed, bone was jutting out from flesh, some helpful soul walked by and stated, "That's a compound fracture."
One of the volunteers saw the what blood there and blurted out, "Should I call an ambulance?"
"Naah," Rob said, "I can drive to the hospital."
"But shouldn't we do something?" she insisted.
"Well," I offered, "we should elevate his hand above his heart, and maybe splint it."
"What do we use for a splint?" she asked, triggering a flashback to my dog-eared Boy Scout First Aid merit badge booklet,
"Umm, well, we need something hard for a splint. Something about the size of his hand."
"Like what?"
"Well, aah, a water bottle would work."
"OK!" she shouted as she ran over to the check-in table where dozens of commemorative 20th TMBC Anniversary water bottles were lined up.
Meanwhile I got Rob sitted in a chair and fished in my bag for my gaffer's tape. (It's like duct tape, but with a cloth backing & less adhesive.) When water bottle lady returned I told Rob to hold the water bottle in his maimed hand, then taped his hand to the bottle. Someone else sensibly suggested that we should keep his hand cool, so water bottle lady ran to get a bucket of ice. I filled the bottle with ice, then looked at Rob and asked him, "Which hospital are you heading to?"
"Oh, Norfolk General."
"You'll be able to drive."
"Yeah, it's only my left hand. It's an automatic transmission, so it won't be a problem."
All during this time riders were whizzing through the pit, some hopping off their bikes as their waiting teammates started in on their laps. While Rob and I had initially hoped to be able to place decently in the Duo Enduro category, even though we only had 2 gears and 1 suspension fork between us, I realized our competitive hopes had vanished. There was no way that I could compete against 2-man teams by myself. But since Rob had ridden to the pit, he had met the rules for switching riders, and I could technically continue the race as a team. But Rob wouldn't be riding anymore.
So I walked Rob to his Volvo wagon and got his bike on the roof while he settled his kids in the car. I waved him off, then headed back to the pit for my bike.
I rode for the better part of the next 5 hours, stopping to rest and adjust my cameras, generally just having a good time. So let me know what you think... The YouTube version offers a bigger picture, but it's resampled and compressed more than the blogger version at the top of this post. But I'm including it if you want to watch it in big screen...
Podcasting, for those who ain't so tech-savvy, is an awesome way to listen to audio content on your own schedule. Instead of having to remember to tune into, say, This American Life, or The Bill O'Reilly Show, you can just subscribe to a podcast through iTunes (look for the "Podcast" menu on the left side, then click the "Podcast Directory" button), download the show to you MP3 player, and listen to it at your convenience.
While there are quite a number of professionally-produced radio shows that are now available in podcast format, there are a whole bunch of amateurs who are getting into the game, too. So here's a round up of my favorite biking podcasts. I've included the hyperlinks to the iTunes podcast URL's, so just click the link and you'll go to the podcast:
The Bike Show from Resonance FM. Jack Thurston hosts this awesome little show out of London, and covers everything from the latest underground fashions in cycling apparel to transcontinental bike rides. The interview with Sheldon Brown on the history of Raleigh bicycles is a real gem. The Bike Show blog is here.
Bikescape From the other side of the Atlantic comes Bikescape, an amateur show out of San Francisco. While not as regular as The Bike Show, Bikescape offers a revealing look into West Coast urban bike culture, while also occasionally venturing abroad for visits to velodromes and New York City. The Bikescape blog is here.
The FredCast The FredCast is oriented towards road riders, and the first twenty minutes of every show is spent recapping the pro tour. If you care about the pro tour, I guess that's a good thing...If you care about latest, newest, and most expensive power meters, GPS navigators, cyclometers, heart meters or integrated power meters/GPS navigators/cyclometers/heart meters, then this is the show for you. Sometimes The FredCast is good, but sometimes it's just annoying. The FredCast blog is here.
The Spokesmen Cycling Roundtable While The FredCast can be a bit much, the same guy also puts together a round table discussion by a rotating cast of bike industry folks. It's usually a pretty amusing ensemble, especially when the mountain bike guys start dissing roadies for doping. Much, much better than The FredCast.
Crooked Cog Podcast Tim Grahl had a great thing going there for a while, but it's been a few months since he posted a new show. Crooked Cog focused on blue collar mountain biking- no high-end pro stuff, just the gritty basics for the working stiff who likes to ride some singletrack before going home to stinky diapers.
Just a random sweep of what I've been reading today-
First off, there's an awesome little magazine out of Bozeman, Montana (of all places) by the name of The Practical Pedal. They bill themselves as "The Journal of Practical Bicycling." And fittingly they had advertising for bakfiets, those awesome Dutch utility bikes ("the minivan of bicycles.") Not only can you download the PDF of the latest issue for free, but subscription is free, too!
I guess I know I've passed into middle age when not only is my hairline receding, but the exotic European models I lust after are...utility bikes. Bakfiets are just darn cool, and they're coming to this side of the pond! I'm hoping I might get my hands on one for a test ride...
And then there's this little gem of a blog:
Copenhagen Girls on Bikes. Oh...Oh, yeah... There's just something about a thigh-high, stilleto-heeled boot braced onthe pedal of a be-fendered city bike.
Finally, Issue 131 of Dirt Rag is now on the newsstands, and is, as always, worth reading from cover to cover.
