Seriously, don't get hit by a car

It's been about 10 weeks since getting hit by a cop car. I've had all my injuries checked out, had my bike repaired, finally conquered crossing in that crosswalk without getting nervous. I had all the stuff for my claim to the City of Cleveland (they self-insure their police) assembled. Told the story enough times that I have it distilled down to 30 seconds. I was about ready to be finally done with it all.

Until today.

A routine dental appointment (scary enough to begin with) revealed two chips in the enamel in some molars the left hand side of my mouth. Apparently it looked like I had been hit in the chin... I haven't, but the only even remotely tramautic thing I've had happen to me since my last appointment is the bike accident, so it must be that. So now, on Wednesday, I am getting my first two fillings ever (and hopefully the last!). I have never even had a cavity. Just goes to show: you can take perfect care of your teeth but it is not going to prevent dental work!

In my post about the accident, I encouraged everyone to read Cycling Tip's post on what to do if you're involved in an accident. I'd like to add "visit the dentist" to the list. Even if you don't think you did anything to your teeth (I didn't think I did! nothing hurt!), it is a good idea for them to check your teeth out to see if you did any damage. Trust me, you don't want to spend the day before Christmas Eve getting fillings. NO FUN!

I am looking forward to the post-dental-work milkshake, though. The silver lining!! Am going to look for a place that has something other than just vanilla or chocolate shakes. Stewart's, maybe?

Rally in support of bike and pedestrian access on new Innerbelt Bridge

Location
Lincoln Park
W. 14th Street and Kenilworth Avenue
Cleveland, OH

Join the fan page for "Innerbelt access for everyone" -http://www.facebook.com/pages/Innerbelt-Bridge-access-for-everyone-including-bikes-and-pedestrians/183358026650

A rally to support pedestrian and bike access on the bridge will be held Sunday, December 6 at 2 p.m. at Lincoln Park in Tremont (W. 14th Street and Kenilworth Avenue).

Anyone interested in safe, convenient and healthy car-free access between Downtown and Tremont (and a great scenic overlook of downtown) is invited to attend. The event is free, and refreshments and entertainment will be provided. Cyclists are urged to ride their bikes, with free mechanical safety checks provided by the Ohio City Bicycle Co-op. Helmets are strongly suggested, and OCBC will have some available to borrow or purchase.

The rally will evaluate alternative walking and biking routes proposed by ODOT for the bridge and present other information about a dedicated path over the bridge. Participants will divide into groups, taking a different route from Lincoln Park to the intersection of Ontario Street and Carnegie Avenue, where a brief rally will address the issues of equity and civic interest in this nearly $1 billion project, before returning to Tremont for refreshments and discussion of strategies for further public input in this process.

After the rally, the job is not over. Please consider attending and voicing your support at a very important follow up: The December 11 meeting of the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA) at 10 a.m. when this local board will decide on ODOT's final proposal for funding of this project.

If you cannot make the meeting, consider sending an email, calling, or writing the Mayor's action line 216/664-2900, and the ODOT project director, Craig Hebebrand, at 216/581-2100 to let ODOT know you support biking and walking the proposed I-90/71 bridge. This huge taxpayer investment—ODOT's largest ever—will affect the places we live, work and play for the rest of our lives. Any donations to the event organizers will be used to help pay for engineering and professional services to document ODOT miscalculations of the feasibility and cost to safely accommodate pedestrians and cyclists in this project.

For more information, please stay tuned and visit http://www.gcbl.org/innerbelt

Powershift 2009

I was asked recently to sit on a bike panel at the Powershift 2009 conference for the Ohio chapter of Powershift (or something like that). Powershift is a group that is trying to pass climate change legislation and to promote alternative energy solutions. Part of reducing our impact on the environment is exploring alternate sources of transportation, like biking. The conference, while not directly set up as such, was mostly students from universities around Ohio.

I expect I was supposed to give the planner's perspective on cycling, but it didn't quite turn out that way. Our panel was composed of the director of the Ohio City Bike Co-op here in Cleveland, the president of Cleveland Bikes! (an advocacy organization), the director of the Oberlin Bike Co-op and myself, a grad student who doesn't actually work in bike planning but works on the same team as one. I suppose my real qualification was the fact that I don't own a car. Most of the students who attended our panel were interested in creating bicycle organizations such as co-ops or rental programs on their campus. It was really heart-warming to hear students from all kinds of colleges who are interested in promoting cycling for transportation.

Not every student can have a car on campus, or could even afford one, but certainly we could get more access to bikes. Considering the costs of parking on some campuses, a small fee to rent a bike for a semester suddenly seems like an attractive economic alternative. Especially if most of your travel is local.

At the same time, it was a little sad to realize that a) I was the ONLY representative from Cleveland State University (and wouldn't have even come unless I was on that panel) and b) there are successful bike programs on some campuses, yet we are struggling to get Cleveland State to put in bike racks. I don't really see a bike cooperative or rental program really working on our campus because it's mostly commuters, but the least we can do is put in racks in visible, well-lit, prominent places for people like me and many classmates who do cycle to school. We're an urban school with a stellar school of urban affairs. Promoting biking should be a natural fit.

Extra shiny forks: Update after the crash

It is due time for an update after my lil run-in with the hood of a cop car on Thursday morning. I'll start with the boring part (me) and get on to the exciting part (my bike).

The bruises are coming along quite nicely. For someone who very rarely bruises, this is weird to look at my legs and see purplish-blueish-yellowish splotches all over. The only cuts I had were tiny ones from my big ring, and those are almost healed. I now understand the point of chainguards! My neck is far less sore, and my abs/middle are also much less sore. So I am healing quite nicely. I have been rather cautious using crosswalks, though... haha.

Now on to Jay, my bike. Dropped it off yesterday at my LBS. Ended up needing a new fork and new bar tape, wheels to be trued, one of the fender arms needed to be straightened, and one of the brake levers was knocked a little bit loose. The new fork is lugged steel and finished in chrome, which looks very nice next to the chrome fenders. I was worried it would look garish, but it worked out okay. I'm hoping Cleveland's finest will be paying for the repairs! I think it will be a few days before I'll be riding again, and I'm already excited.

In other news, Google says it will add bicycling to it's maps, and stay tuned for an interview with Ironman World Championship (Kona, Hawaii) finisher Amy!

Getting hit: On how to get a bomb squad* cop to come to your ER room

*No actual bombs, don't worry.

Continuing in the vein of ridiculousness, today I was riding my bike and got hit by, of all things, a cop car.

Yeah, a cop car.

Now before you go all militant and get angry over cops not treating cyclists fairly and all that, you should know this was an accident in the purest sense of the term. I was riding up to a crosswalk by a coffeeshop to go the CVS next door, and two cars pulled up to the stop sign. The one furthest from me was a cop car, and the two cars were staggered by a foot or two, with the cop car a little bit further back. Seeing that they were both stopped, I rolled through the crosswalk. But then the police car started going! It all happened so fast, so I don't really remember actually hitting the car. All I managed was to think "the cop car is really moving!" then the next thing I remember was rolling down the hood of the car (and thinking "i thought this only happened in movies"), then sitting on the ground. She hadn't seen me at all behind the other car. Yeah, she hit me when I had the right of way, so for legal purposes it's her fault, but she also had no idea I was there and obviously wasn't trying to hit me. She had come to a full and complete stop and just plain and simple didn't see me.

Someone grabbed my bike for me, and I was able to stand, so we got on the sidewalk. A bunch of people saw the accident, and one guy gave me his card if I needed a witness. Two more cop cars came, a fire truck with EMTs came, and then an ambulance. A little overkill, but whatever. The firemen took my bike, the EMTs took me, and the other cops did police-y type things.

The ambulance ride was pretty interesting. I was talking to the EMT, a former bike commuter here in Cleveland. Apparently he had stopped riding his bike to work because it got too unsafe. He also said that they'd been having more bike accidents recently. Not the kind of thing a bike advocate wants to hear, but important.

The ER visit was mostly routine. Some more cops came and asked me questions. Everyone would ask me, so what happened? I'd answer with "I was riding my bike when I got hit by a cop car" and I'd get a response along the lines of "wait, what? a cop car hit you?" As my knee, hip, and shin were hurting, I got a whole slew of x-rays. Got wheeled back radiology to find a bomb squad/crime scene photographer sitting outside my room (hence the title). Yeah, no joke. Apparently I'm a crime scene. So he took a few photographs and showed me the ones he had taken of Jay, my bike. Apparently the front fork is bent, along with one of the things that holds on the fenders. According to him, it looked fixable. I guess we'll see when I pick up the bike and take it the bike shop. The x-rays came back, nothing was broken! Just a lot of contusions, which I think is a fancy word for bruises, kinda like how laceration is a fancy term for a cut. Got discharged, limped over to the hospital cafeteria and got an Einstein's asiago cheese bagel because I feeling a little sorry for myself. Man, they have to be the best kind of bagel in the world. Took the bus back to my apartment and am now milking this for all its worth by sitting on my rear and being totally lazy. I'm already feeling better.

I'm incredibly lucky to have escaped from a car/bike collision with only bruises and a bike that (probably) can be fixed. That doesn't always happen, like in the case of Sylvia Bingham the other week here in Cleveland. So, on that note, I would like to request a few things of all you readers:

1. Wear a helmet. Even if you don't think it works (even I'm not totally sold on the claim they protect your head), it sure makes it a lot easier to deal with paperwork/authorities if you do end up being involved in an accident.
2. Read this post from Cycling Tips Blog on what to do if you're involved in an accident. Thank goodness I had read the post, and remembered parts of it, because the last bullet point is very true: the adrenaline masks the pain, and it's better to get it checked out right then because things don't start hurting until later.
3. If you're in the Cleveland area, please participate in the 17 October ride celebrating the life of Sylvia Bingham. Meet in Edgewater park at 10am, there will be guided rides to go off and participate in community service type activities. Given what I know about Sylvia, I can't think of a better way to memorialize her life than to do a cycling event that gives back to the community, and one that will raise awareness of cycling in Cleveland.

Also, since I know you're feeling sorry for poor ole Furman, please consider donating to Bike & Build for me. Shameless, I know. :P But it's going to a good cause: affordable housing!

I ride for... a better world.

Today I participated in a memorial ride for Sylvia Bingham, the cyclist killed last week here in Cleveland. It was at the same time an incredibly heart-warming event as well as an incredibly heart-wrenching event.

Imagine 150 cyclists all wearing white riding in silence behind a police escort. Imagine 150 people placing beautiful flowers next to a ghost bike. Imagine 150 people joining in song in front of Hard Hatted Women, the agency where Sylvia worked.

Tell me that is not something powerful to see. There was hardly a dry eye today.

Let me remind you that this took place in Cleveland. I haven't really had much a chance to really bike around other cities, but from my own experience, the culture here doesn't really support cyclists. Given the rash of cyclist deaths, accidents, crashes, and near-misses in the past few weeks here in Northeast Ohio, it's enough to give one pause. Maybe it is some freak coincidence, but it very much unnerves me. Especially since I've had a few near-misses myself. Is there something about NEO recently that actively discourages cycling and makes it dangerous?

Aside from this steak of cycling accidents recently, I've had some less than positive interactions with non-cylists about cycling lately. Especially tonight. Miss JF and I were biking back from the west side (we helped run a community meeting) and were harassed by some teenagers in, of all things, a soccer mom van. Later, when Miss JF and I boarded the train with our bikes to take us back to our apartment building (we're neighbors!), we were appalled when the train driver delayed the train and called in four transit cops solely to kick another guy with his bike off the train. We weren't in the least bit making a scene, but apparently there is a two bike limit on RTA trains in Cleveland. I have a bunch of issues with this rule, the least of which is that is not posted anywhere. Okay, fine, have a stupid rule, but don't expect compliance unless people actually know about it. If you want to be instantly nauseated, read some of the comments on the Plain Dealer article about Sylvia's death. It's so disheartening to experience a culture actively trying to discourage me from cycling.

That being said, the cyclists themselves to me so far have come across as really great people. Yeah, I see people salmoning and riding at night without lights and messengers cutting through traffic without helmets on, but for the most part, the cyclists I've interacted with have been really great. Today, for example, a complete stranger and his girlfriend stopped in the middle of their ride to help me change a flat tire. And the simple fact that 150 people came to ride in Sylvia's honor, even though I'm sure many, myself included, did not know her. This might be indicitive of cyclists in general but regardless, it means a lot especially here.

I do my best to promote and support cycling, especially cycling as transportation. Recreational and sport cycling is great, too. I think the culture here is pretty supportive of that. I see a slew of roadies out in the Chagrin River Valley when I bike there on weekends to get my fill of nature. People are pretty deferential to the cyclists out there, too. Cycling as transportation, on the other hand, is far less accepted here. I'm car-free in a city that doesn't support it. Bike facilities are few and far between and not well connected to each other. People yell nasty things out their car windows at me. I navigate potholes and broken glass daily. Near-misses unfortunately are a part of my life, no matter how many rules I follow (or don't follow). I often am the only cyclist I see in any given stretch of road.

Sylvia wanted to make shirts that said "I ride for ___" and people could write in what they rode for. Today I rode for Sylvia. But tomorrow and from here on out, I'm riding for a better world. The one Sylvia envisioned, so I am told. I see cycling as freedom, as sustainability, and as an income-independent mode of transportation. I did not choose to be car-free, but I have unexpectedly ended up a major proponent. I'm not saying I'm never going to own a car, I'm saying I think people shouldn't knock this whole living sans-automobile thing. At the very least, they should respect it as a choice for others, and make it easier for those who don't even have that choice.

Utility cycling isn't just for the well-to-do with expensive bikes, it's a tool for poverty, too. Being unable to afford a car, and often not sure whether I'll be able to make ends meet at the end of the month, I can understand a little how important cycling can be to people of all incomes. Watch this video from Streetfilms profiling a bike parking facility outside of Sao Paulo. Aside from the mind boggling number of bikes, pay attention to the social, legal, and bike education component. Every once in a while something knocks you on your ass with its genius. It's not aimed at middle-class, bike-to-your-white-collar-office-job cyclists, like I feel is the case in what little bike planning Cleveland really does. This is for everyone. Cleveland has a lot of poverty. Anyone else making this connection?

Cleveland, you have a great opportunity to be world class here. You want to be a city of choice? Well I chose to bike. I'm not the only one. You want to attract the creative class? Well they like to bike. Make it easier for them. You want to be sustainable? Promote cycling as a mode of transportation. You want to be a green city on a blue lake? It won't be that until it's bike-friendly. You want people to like me to stay after I graduate? Put in the infrastructure for me to live without a car. You want to do something about poverty? Give them (us) a way to get to work safely and quickly on bike. You want to have a depressingly inadequate and grossly overpriced public transit system? Fine. Let us get around by bike instead.

Biking as transportation isn't for everyone. I know that. But it is for a lot of people. And so I will ride for a better world, one where cycling is used at its fullest potential to do good in this world.

I ride for... Sylvia

Last week a young woman cycling to work was killed in a hit and run accident. Please see the Plain Dealer article for the whole story. In short, Sylvia Bingham was a Yale graduate working in Cleveland for the Hard Hatted Women organization who was on her way to work when she was struck and killed. I didn't know her at all, but I was very unnerved by her accident and after learning about her, I am realizing we lost a truly great person from the world.

If you happen to live in Cleveland then please come to her memorial ride this coming Tuesday. More details are here and here. We are meeting at West 11th & Fairfield in Tremont at 7:30am. There has been a request to wear a white shirt.

Thanks, and ride safe.

Considering bike commuting?

I could wax poetic all day about the benefits and joys of bike commuting, but let's pretend you already are "sold" on the concept. Just to clarify, we're talking about utility cycling or transportation cycling, not recreational or sporting.

It's not the world's easiest thing to pick up, but once one does it enough times, it becomes rote. Until one gets there, thought, it's quite a bit of trial and error. A cursory Google search will probably yield many different opinions and solutions for bike commuting. Because this is my own blog, and I'm allowed to say whatever I want, I'm going to throw my two cents in. Oh, the glory of having a personal soapbox, er, blog.

The basics:

• A bike.
• A way to to carry your gear.
• Bike-appropriate clothing.
• Misc. accoutrements to make the ride easier and more comfortable.

Let's start at the top: the bike. The key ingredient to this being a bike commute and not some other form. I'll probably cover the rest in future installments.

If you already have a bike, you're probably golden. But depending on what type it is, the conditions you face, and how long your commute is, you might be searching for a different bike.

Short commutes will accommodate pretty much any type of bicycle, but for really long commutes, you might want to consider a bike more suited to long distance, like a touring bike.

If you're facing rough road conditions like potholes and whatnot, I'd highly recommend a steel frame bike. They might be heavier, but they absorb much more than other materials.

Might be biking the rain? Aluminum rims wheels are the way to go (and probably my next upgrade to Jay).

Got a flat commute? A fixed gear or a single speed might be an option for you.

Hilly commute? Definitely a geared bike.

The bottom line is to find a bike that fits you, is comfortable, and that you look forward to riding. Bike commuting should be fun!

On this steel horse I ride: Jay, my Peugeot

I have a penchant for naming my bikes. First, there was Mike the Bike, the one that started it all. Purchased early on in my college years at a garage sale, Mike was a late 1970s silver Panasonic road bike. We got it and a smaller sister bike, a tiny mixte, for $5. If you're going to purchase a bike as an around-campus beater, $2.50 is a pretty good price. Minus nearly every cable breaking on Mike at some point or another, he was a great bike until I crashed it this past October. Totalling one's bike while riding slowly around a corner on dry, smooth pavement on a sunny Friday afternoon is all kinds of embarrassing and sad, let me tell you. I still have Mike, he's sitting in my room with parts hanging off and a parking ticket sticker on it. 

As I don't own a car, and the public transit system is only so convenient, I needed another bike. I headed down to our local bike co-op and bought the only bike I could afford: Ross the Diamond Cruiser. An early precursor to the mountain bike, it has two inch wide tires, a black frame, and shiny cruiser-style handlebars. Yeah, it's definitely a unique bike. Ross now has a basket and is used for short, errand type trips, except I hardly ever take any, so mostly he sits and collects dust. When I realized I wasn't riding much because my bike wasn't appropriate to the kind of riding I enjoy most, it was time to shop for a new bike. 

Still being a poor graduate student, and one with little time, I trolled craigslist for weeks until I found it: a 1981 Peugeot PH8 steel frame touring bike in electric blue. The beautiful color, the chrome fenders and rack, the integrated headlight/taillight with a bottle generator, downtube friction shifters, and the road bike geometry were perfect. So, I reserved a CityWheels car and drove to a local suburb to test drive my future ride. Got there too early, and went to a local park to kill time, where I saw a blue jay. Some kind of fate, clearly, because the bike was perfect for me and I bought it. I named it Jay - a French name for a French bike, a blue bird's name for a blue bike, an elegant character's name (Jay Gatsby) for an elegant bike. Jay is great because it's a nice commuting bike what with having a rack and all, and it is a light and fast enough bike to do double duty as a road bike. He's had a few upgrades: all new cables, new handlebar tape, new saddle, new city tires (fatter than road tires, but hella more durable), rack bag, bento box, all to make it a comfortable ride. So, here's to many more miles with Jay, my steel horse. :) 

No foot down commute: Success!

On the list of achievements in my life, this is pretty much around the bottom, but I managed my first "no foot down" commute on Friday morning. That's right- the entire bike commute done without stopping. 

Considering there are 7 stoplights before I even get to the main part of my commute (which has too many stoplights to count), this is kind of exciting. Obviously I rolled through a few stoplights, but safely and always watching for traffic. I wasn't even aware of the concept of "no foot down" commute until I read this strip from local bicycle comic, Yehuda Moon and the Kickstand Cyclery. It's a lovely comic about this guy Yehuda who works at a bike shop. Even better: the suburb I currently live in is featured! 

I had been incredibly close to achieving the "no foot down" commute on Wednesday morning, but was foiled a few blocks from my destination by some lost travelers in a mini-van. They pulled up next to me in crisp white shirts and ties, and in a deep Southern drawl, asked me where the Salvation Army was. I was so surprised that I stopped (therefore putting the foot down and voiding the quest) and gave them directions. You never know what you are going to see in Cleveland.

Live free or drive. Sorta.

I miss my bike, Jay. Where did it go? you might be wondering. Nowhere.

That's the point. It's been an awfully rainy week here by the shores of Lake Erie, and I haven't been able to bike commute. I have fenders on Jay and water-proof bags, but I haven't a waterproof cycling jacket nor a hat with a brim for under my helmet. I also have an enormous hill to descend on the way there that requires quite a bit of braking of which my steel-rimmed wheels are not up to par. So, for the past few days I've been riding the train downtown. I love the train, don't get me wrong, and I love the occasional "day off" from the saddle, but three days of cold rain?!

So there Jay sits, in my living room, getting a little dusty, while every morning I scrounge up 8 quarters for transit fare. I'm a huge proponent of public transit, but at the same time, I appreciate the flexibility of not having to line up my life according to the train & bus schedules & routes. Being unable to afford a car, this leaves me with my bike(s), which is fine most of the time. For odd trips that require a car, I have a membership to a car-share program. I am realizing, however, that cycling is my favorite mode of transportation. It's not ideal for everything, obviously, but I've made it work quite well for commuting (with cooperating weather, of course). I love the freedom and the perspective. Missing my bike is proof. I'm not anti-car, I'm pro-bike.

My wishlist for my bike commute

I commute to work via bike pretty much every day that it is feasible; that is, if the weather's okay and I don't have some early meeting or something going on directly after work, I'm on my bike Jay cruising in to the office. This much bike commuting is a lot of fun but there are a few things for which I wish to make it even better.

1) An iron at work. One of the trickiest things about my bike commute is figuring out not only what I am going to wear at work, but how I'm going to get it there. I have practice at this from having to go directly from swim practice to work during summers at home, but it doesn't change the fact that a lot of my clothes require ironing. Rolling or neatly folding only goes so far. Jersey dresses and anything that survives being packed well are favorites of mine, but I only have so much of that. Hence, an iron. Or a steamer. Or both! I can't claim credit for this idea, but it's on my wishlist anyways.

2) An insulated bag for the rack on my bike. Seriously, why hasn't this been invented yet?! They already look like soft-sided coolers, why not actually make one? I have a Chrome messenger bag that fits every last thing I need for the day except for a lunch. I essentially bought a rack bag solely to store my insulated lunchbox. I do not regret that purchase, but it would be nice to carry even just a little bit less weight.

3) A way to listen to music. Certainly I could wear my iPod, but I also need to be able to hear traffic. It'd be sweet if they could make a handlebar mount for one's iPod with little speakers, or perhaps wireless headphones that still allow the sound of traffic with the handlebar iPod mount.

A girl can dream, right?

Head, shoulder, knees and toes, knees and toes

I never seem to be far from some sort of minor ache or pain; this week has been no exception. After taking the weekend off from training due to an unusually busy schedule, I hit the bike commute hard on Monday, especially on the ride back. I took the long, scenic route, and ended up climbing quite a bit which made my knees less than happy. Ice and another day of rest took care of that one. I went swimming last night only to have my shoulder act up during my warm-up, but it went away as I swam more. Today, before heading to work, I did a "surges" track workout (a more formalized version of a fartlek and what cross country runners apparently do to better their second half of their runs). Now my heel hurts a teeny bit and all I have are silly little cutesy flats with no support! None of these aches & pains are anything more than minor, so I'm fine.

The good news is that I managed to blow through my morning bike commute with only having to stop three times at stoplights... the whole 6.5 miles! The workout had taken less time than I had budgeted, so between leaving earlier than usual and barely stopping the whole route, I got to work quite early, meaning I can leave early (or pad the week so I can work a shorter day tomorrow). Yeah! The other good news is that I managed to run the whole time with my hair in a low ponytail for the first time. I expect that I will have to do that for the triathlon (no need to waste time in T2 styling my hair!) so might as well get used to it now.

The long way home

Sometimes the weather is just too beautiful to take the fastest route back to my apartment from work. Today I cycled along the lake and then up a bike path along a boulevard to get back to the area I live. This scenic route essentially doubles the length of my trip, but how often do I have time to leisurely pedal along the shore and watch the sailboats, or cruise through the cultural gardens along the bike path during the school year? The answer is never, and so I am trying my best to do all the fun things I can't normally do. Whoever said the real world stinks certainly never went to planning school. :)