Rider on the Storm

In case you've been living in a cave, we've experienced some crazy weather in and around the city of Philadelphia the last week or so. I personally made it through just fine, but I did suffer a bit of misfortune after the fact.

After a brutal windy, rainy and snowy Friday last week, we were pelted with several inches of thick, wet snow a few days ago on Wednesday. It actually forced me to use a car for my Wash Cycle Laundry route. Of course, I had to get to and from the car somehow, and the train wasn't really a viable option due to walking distance, so my bike was called into brief action that day:

I think the round trip was less than two miles, much lower than what I'm used to. They were an arduous windy, rainy, and snowy two miles. My bike worked just fine, so in hindsight, that day wasn't that bad though...

Things in the weather department settled down rather quickly, and we were greeted with a gorgeous day on Thursday:

That doesn't mean it was all peaches and cream. After storms, there's salty water and slush everywhere, which makes quite a mess:

It also creates unnoticeable hazards. I was riding to work that morning and hit a rather deep pot hole at nearly full speed. I couldn't see it because it was filled with slush that appeared to be just a small pile of snow I'd normally plow right through. The impact jarred me off my seat, forcing me to quickly dismount and reset my balance. I discovered after the fact that it also damaged several components of my rear wheel. Not the best visual, but you can see the wheel is very far off kilter:

I actually rode it home, assuming the wheel had been simply knocked out of true. As I was loosening the rear axle to work on it, I could see by the wobble that this wasn't the case. Realizing I didn't have the tools to fix it myself, I dropped it off at Bicycle Therapy yesterday. The verdict? I've broken a spoke and a rear axle, which is going to require a whole new rear wheel. Fun times.

It's a good thing I have my girlfriend's bike for backup. I've gotta get to work today. The moral of the story is, just because you survived the height of the storm doesn't mean its effects are through. Be aware out there, everyone.

Bike Lame

In the wake of cyclist Emily Fredericks' death after an incident with a trash truck in Center City Philly on Tuesday morning, there have been numerous demonstrations and calls for action by the cycling community. The city appeared to act quickly on one of these calls by repainting the bike lanes on Spruce Street (according to that article, this painting was actually scheduled weeks ago).

Much to my chagrin, I was returning from delivering food in Society Hill last evening when I happened upon said re-painting, and noticed something appeared a little off:

As you can see, the city only re-painted the drivers' side stripe of the bike lane buffer, at least on this particular block. These pictures were taken between 5th & 7th streets. The stripes within the buffer zone and the curbside stripe of the buffer are still very much worn, as is the bike lane indicator symbol. You can actually see a car driving in the bike lane in the above photo. Reason being that the net effect of this improper striping makes it look like there are actually two car lanes, especially at night:

What's even more perplexing is that a few blocks up the street, the curbside line of the buffer IS painted. Why even bother going out to re-paint the lines if you're not going to do it correctly? I'll take another look when I head back up that way later today. Here's hoping it's fixed by then, and no other incidents occur...

Anywho, the Emily Fredericks Memorial Ride is happening in about a half hour and I won't be able to make it, but I'll certainly be there in spirit. Please join if you are able. Enjoy your Sunday regardless.

#bikeyourbirthmonth

"It Could Have Been Any One of Us"

I got to the office this morning and had just taken off my helmet when my co-worker walked in. He did the same, and we began chatting as we usually do. He asked me if I'd seen the human-made "protected bike lane" on Spruce Street:

As you can see from the pictures above, I'd not only seen it, but I participated and rode in it. The event was organized by our former co-worker, good friend and cycling advocate, who I briefly chatted with while I was on Spruce Street. She had helped to coordinate this gathering of about 100 cyclists and cycling supporters.

So why were we all there, standing in a bike lane buffer zone at 7:30 on a Wednesday morning? In solidarity and support of a fellow cyclist killed in an incident with a motor vehicle, the third such in Philadelphia this year. As sobering of an occasion as this was, there was a sense of comfort to see so many people coming out in support. The line stretched approximately 3 city blocks (not counting side streets):

11th and Spruce Streets, scene of the fatal crash on Tuesday morning

My co-worker and I continued chatting, about what we knew about the incident, about what we'd like to see happen in its wake, and then as we realized this had happened during the time we're usually commuting, he said something that really struck me.

"It could have been any one of us."

It could have been, and that's really why we were all out there today. There's been a lot of emotionally-charged speak from both sides of the argument, but no matter who's right or wrong, the fact is that a woman lost her life yesterday and it could have been avoided. The reality is that for all the love myself and many others pour into riding a bike every day, we're still risking our lives every single time we do it, and it doesn't have to be this way. It shouldn't be this way.

I'm not going to lie to all of you. What you see on this blog and in my social feeds may paint the picture that I'm a fearless cyclist and that everything I do with my friends and family that involves biking is all well and good. The hard truth is that I fear incidents like this every single day. Every cyclist does, and if they say they don't, they're lying. And I don't just fear them for myself; I fear that these incidents will happen to anyone.

In the coming days and weeks, I'm sure we'll find out exactly what happened at 11th & Spruce on that fateful Tuesday morning. Regardless of that, the point is still clear to me. We all have different places to go and we all have different ways of getting there, so we have to figure out a way to do it safely.

We (cyclists) need to continue to be vigilant in safe riding practices and advocating for infrastructure that helps us co-exist with our transportation brethren. My fellow motorists (yes, I also drive a car from time to time) need to continue to be mindful of their surroundings and also just as diligent in safe driving practices.

Because like my co-worker said this morning, it could have been any one of us.

Break Stuff

I've mentioned before that I don't mind getting called in to front line duty for Wash Cycle every now and then. After all, I was a delivery cyclist for 2.5 years, and being outside on a bike...OK you've heard this story before. Anyway, that said, some days it's awesome and other days it's not all peaches & cream, just like any job.

Monday morning, I was scheduled for Center City commercial deliveries again. It seemed like a really beautiful morning at first, sunny with a light breeze and a high of 85 in the forecast. I actually got to the office ahead of schedule, and other than having to repair a flat tire on the trailer first thing, the morning went smoothly. So smoothly in fact that the barista at Grindcore House actually pointed out that I was smiling: 

I used to frequent their shop when I lived in Pennsport, and I have a few good memories from there. Add this one to the list.

Around this time, the humidity really started to pick up, and it wasn't long before I was sweating bullets even with a light load. BUT, I ran into my old boss (who's now the executive director of Theatre Philadelphia) at another coffee shop we service, so I paused to chat with her for a few minutes (and enjoy the air conditioning).

My workload also picked up. An hour later in Center City, this was the scene:

I wasn't dehydrated by any means, but I was sweating pretty profusely and it seemed like a lot, even considering the amount I was towing. That said, I've done this countless times before and I was doing just fine minus looking like I'd just got out of a swimming pool.

There's that old saying that you're only as strong as your weakest link, and I found mine on the ride back to the plant. That flat that I fixed earlier in the day was riding on a less-than-optimal wheel/rim and I thought I could nurse it throughout the day (actually, I had to - it was the only one available at the time). All things considered, I did pretty well to get 3+ hours out of it, but with 250ish pounds on its back, it eventually folded (almost literally):

It might be tough to see from this angle, but two of the spokes are completely "free" from the center hub. Even at slow speed, there was no way the tire would hold up to that kind of wobbling. I had to call our West Philly cyclist to offload some of my trailer to avoid any further damage, and I replaced the wheel. I couldn't really be upset about the whole thing - it was only a matter of time before this happened.

This considered, I still finished 30+ appointments in less than 4 hours:

The oddities really began after I got back to the plant. I unloaded the last drop off and noticed my front tire on my personal bike was flat. Apparently I'd picked up a shard of glass on the ride in, this after I'd JUST REPLACED the tire and tube on Sunday. Even worse, that wheel I'd replaced on the trailer was ALSO flat, likely meaning it had a slow leak even before I put it on. SO, I fixed those too, and mercifully headed home. Let's just say I've gotten my fill of flats these last few days for sure (pun intended).

Door, Knee, Park

Sometimes even when you're operating legally and non-aggressively, incidents are unavoidable.

I was riding home in the bike lane on Snyder Avenue on Wednesday afternoon when I was struck by a fast-opening car door.  Bike lanes, though designated spaces for bikes, are not always 100% bike-friendly.  The bike lanes on Snyder are flanked on one side by parked cars, similar to this setup on 34th Street:

As you can see, car doors open directly into the bike lane, and if you encounter a situation like I did the other day, there's little you can do to avoid them.  I was cruising at a modest 7-10 MPH, not flying by any means, but still too fast to swerve to avoid a car door opening just as I passed his rear quarter panel.

The door struck my bike on the right handlebar, somehow miraculously missing my hand, thus avoiding any broken fingers or knuckles.  Still, the impact sent me flying to the pavement, landing on my left hip.  What hurt more was the bike landing on my left knee, which scraped me up pretty good and left some minor swelling.

I was coherent enough to pull myself onto the sidewalk and out of the traffic lane I had landed in, while the motorist graciously pulled my bike off as well.  I said thanks for the help, but he followed by saying "You realize that you hit yourself, right?" to which I responded with a slur of four-letter words.  He apologized again, because really, this was in no way my fault.

I sat there for a minute or two getting my bearings as he talked to me to make sure I was alright.  We exchanged names as he helped me to my feet, and I tested my knee.  I knew right away I would be fine, and I walked home to bandage it up with some cabbage:

It seems strange, I know, but it's a highly effective natural remedy to relieve swelling.  I took the afternoon off and did my deliveries in a car on Thursday and Friday.  I'm at about 80% as of this writing, and I'm thankful it wasn't worse.  Still, as bike-friendly as this city is, we have a lot of work to do to ensure that bike lanes are more bike-friendly, and I'm going to do everything I can to keep spreading awareness.  Something as simple as "The Dutch Reach" could prevent incidents like these in the future.

In any case, enjoy your weekend, and ride safely.

Multi-tooling, Multi-talented, Fighting City Hall...

#31daysofbiking mileage counter: 47.8

A bit delayed on this one, but worth it.

Yesterday was very ho-hum for the most part. I had to do some routine maintenance on the fly (if that makes sense) just after leaving the office. I noticed earlier in the day that my shifters seemed to be facing much more towards me than normal. Turns out, my handlebars were loose. Always keep your multi-tool handy:

Or an allen wrench. We don't need these fancy names.

I nursed the bike about 1 mile from my office to the PPA office. I was going to contest a red light late fee, which I couldn't do because apparently I was at the wrong office. These guys are awesome, let me tell you. I don't know how anyone who works here doesn't kill themselves after a week:

Boringest place ever

It's also home to the world's worst bike rack. If you look above, you can see my wheel locked to it rather than the frame, and an abandoned lock lying next to it. It's literally impossible to lock your frame to this thing because of that ridiculous pipe:

Maybe I should write a review. Anywho, non-biking related awesomeness ensued afterward. Whilst eating dinner, I got wind of a potential last minute gig that ultimately didn't pan out, but I went there anyway to say "hi" and made a cameo appearance that may have won me a future spot. I'm glossing over a lot of details because I'm almost late for work, but last night was pretty fun. Tonight, rest. Now, to work...

Earth Day Part 1

30 Days Mileage Counter

Bike: 360.1

Car: 251

Train: 8

Part of this whole #30daysofbiking is to raise awareness of cycling, so it's only fitting that Earth Day would fall near the middle of this green initiative. After a brief morning route, I trekked the trike out to West Philly to represent Wash Cycle at Drexel University's Earth Day event:

Because they couldn't wait until the ACTUAL Earth Day for this

We had great table placement right at the top of the ramp, but I found this rather ironic:

I mean, technically it's not a BIcycle...

Our mild rebelliousness aside, things went well. I'm very much looking forward to doing it again at Jefferson University on Friday. Shameless plug: if you're in the area of 10th & Locust from 11-1, stop by! As for today, on top of a mild case of sunburn (which I actually enjoy - peeling is fun), I met some really cool women from the Drexel Dining Staff:

How ya like them apples?

They just so happened to be vegans, or at least vegan-curious. We chatted for a little while. Turns out Drexel's food service is actively promoting a whole-grain plant-based diet, and has also issued a "Go Vegan for Earth Day" challenge to students. Who knew?

Speaking of vegan, I decided to step out of bounds a bit today and help myself to my very first Dottie's Donut courtesy of Joe Coffee:

Stupid sun, melting everything and all...

It was pretty good, and dangerous. Let's just say I'm glad I ride a bike for a living. It keeps the guilt from hanging around too long.

Rather fittingly, we segue to a bit of an annoyance courtesy of our boys in blue. On my way back from Thompson St, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the city installed a bike lane on 15th St. just west of City Hall. That enthusiasm was short-lived, when I saw no fewer than 4 police vehicles parked in it:

RESPECT MY AUTHORITAHHHH

Listen, I'm not going to go on a rant here, but this is just a dick move. If I were a bike cop, I'd write them a ticket just to prove a point. If anyone knows of a good reason why all of these dudes were parking up the bike lane at City Hall today, let me know and I'll eat the damn crow. Until then, cue the NWA.

19 days down. Tomorrow should include a glorious trip to the sanitation centre, a root canal and a softball game. I'm looking forward to 1 of those things. Guess.

Tacony Me

For this week's installment in my Sunday Cycling Series, I decided to take a trip down memory lane. Sort of. I decided to explore Tacony Creek Park, which is right around the corner from where my Dad grew up.

It's not right around the corner from me, so I took the train. Don't judge me.

I took the El to Erie-Torresdale, right on the border of Juniata Park/Kensington/Frankford. Here to find out, I was on another stretch of the East Coast Greenway:

More like the REDway at this point...

One day, I will bike the entire Greenway. I think when I come through this stretch, I'll try to make sure it's during daylight hours:

Not pictured, the man who asked me for a cigarette, then asked for money to buy cigarettes.

I headed west from here on Erie Avenue. In a moment that reminded me of my youth (and probably my Dad's, and his Dad's, etc.), I passed by the Bachmann Train Factory:

Looks like any other factory. Meh.

I turned the corner at I street:

Not much, but check out those trolley tracks.

I, Erie. Sounds like a biography?

The trolley tracks are remnants of the former route 56 trolley. SEPTA has been talking about bringing back more trolleys for years. I'd love to see it, but I'm not holding my breath, considering how many times they've paved over tracks in South Philly (which is better for cycling, oddly enough). Anyway...

The neighborhood slowly transitions from dregs to some relatively nice-looking row homes. One of these was my Dad's:

AND THEY HAVE YARDS. JEALOUS.

Finally, I continued north past Juniata Park to the entrance of the Tacony Creek Park Trail at I Street and Ramona Avenue:

Road block.

I didn't take many pictures along the ride, because I was tired of stopping (as you can see above, I did a lot of that). Overall it was a nice ride, paved trail, ups and downs, etc. Of course, there was some graffiti on underpasses:

Yea, I like street art and all, but this gives me the feeling that I wouldn't want to venture here after dark

The southern and northern sections are still disconnected, interrupted by Roosevelt Boulevard:

You wouldn't know from this picture, but this is one of the most dangerous roads in Philly.

There's been an underpass for the trail in the works, which is sorely needed. Crossing Roosevelt is not fun. At any rate, I survived and was able to continue:

Apparently horses are commonplace on this trail?

As I continued along the trail, I noticed several groups of volunteers cleaning up at various spots. You can see why they're needed. They haven't gotten to this spot near Rising Sun Avenue just yet:

Ugh.

After another 20 minutes or so, I reached the end of the trail (after a killer hill) and found myself on the Tookany Creek Parkway, when I noticed the street signs were not Philadelphia-issued:

Suburbs. Meh.

I decided that the edge of the city was a good enough point to turn around and head home. No stop at a new brewery or bar at the end of this ride, but I did manage to reward myself with ONE before I got back on the train:

Also showing my St. Patty's spirit, or something...

I decided to take a different route back to the El and got slightly lost (my sense of direction isn't so good when I don't have the sun as my guide), but found something AMAZING in the process, which I'll be exploring some time soon. Never be afraid to take a detour.

Finally Flat

Two months ago, I posted about a couple streets in my delivery area that had been ground to make way for paving projects. Today, the city finally began to finish the job on North 3rd Street:

I guess all good things take time? Even though Broad Street, Snyder Avenue, 16th Street and several other projects were started after this one and finished first...I guess it doesn't matter. I can finally stop avoiding this area and get back to my normal delivery route, and hope and pray that PGW doesn't get anywhere near this street for a few years.

If you look on the lower left corner of the above pictures, you may have noticed the cafe:

The only reason I highlight it is because I used to work in that building. The owner moved into the former location of the Strengthening Health Institute, and it's a little weird to see. I will, of course, return once it's open to see what their definition of "gourmet" happens to be. Still a strange location for a cafe, if you ask me...

Tonight, my friends from DC are in town playing a show at Kung Fu Necktie. If the rain holds out, I may ride my bike there and have an excuse to blog about it on here tomorrow. If not, I may do it anyway. Ha.

STOP THE VIOLATORS!

I regularly ride by quite a few newspaper stands on a daily basis. I stopped the other day to grab a few of my favorite free weeklies, when I saw this sticker on top of several newspaper boxes:

And here, the "offending" boxes:

Really? This is what we're concerned with? Your tax dollars at work.

So, graffiti, stickers and containing trash violates city code, and apparently the newspaper companies are responsible, even though the vandalism was not of their doing. Such is the paradox of living in the cradle of liberty... Remember this next time someone tags your house, puts a sticker on your front door or throws trash on your lawn. The city is coming for YOU! :P

One more note: it's highly amusing that the city uses stickers to notify offenders about stickers.

Government (Snow) Removal

Note: I intend not to let this blog get political, but as is typical of the way I think, it's bound to happen from time to time. Particularly when the government's actions (or inactions) make my life and work DANGEROUS.

Most of you probably know that the law in many municipalities requires that snow be removed by the owner of the property within a certain amount of time. Of course, it's a little ridiculous that we have to have laws like this to begin with, designed to keep people in line because their sense of decency has been overcome by laziness, but anyway...

The city of Philadelphia is in the throes of Winter storm Thor, which is blanketing us with several inches of thick, wet snow. It's beautiful in most cases. But today, while walking home from work, my usual sure-footedness was interrupted by a large patch of ice that was concealed by the freshly-fallen layer of snow.

Where was this? On a city property: Mario Lanza park to be exact.

I guess the government doesn't feel it's necessary to fine itself, or to obey its own laws.

Damn Kids...

Some have asked about how secure I feel on my job, if I ever get worried about being attacked, whether or not I carry a weapon, etc. Just FYI, I almost always carry a knife. Former Boy Scout that I was, ya never know when you're gonna need it...

At any rate, I've never felt scared except for the two trips I've had to make deep into the heart of Grays Ferry. Nothing happened there, BUT oddly enough, one of the very few incidents I have had involving bystanders (I use the term loosely) happened in Rittenhouse Square, one of the nicest neighborhoods in the city.

It was a nice, clear night, and I wasn't super busy. I was going about my route, kinda zoned in, thinking and whatnot, when all of a sudden I felt a jolt on the back of my trailer. At first, I thought I ran something over. But then I looked back and saw a teenager riding his bike immediately behind me, and he was with several of his friends.

I said "Hey, don't do that." I know. How original of me.

He said "Aww sorry man. My bad."

Without thinking, I said sarcastically "Yea, 'your bad' alright..." I think that's the correct grammar in this context.

Anyway, at this point, he suddenly became interested in my job for some reason, asking me if it was tough, how old you had to be to work for us, all of which I ignored until I turned right several blocks later and the banshees vanished into the night. No projectiles were thrown.

Is this what Mom meant when she said "I hope you have kids one day and they turn out just like you."?

Don't Worry. Bike Happy.

It's been a relatively tame week for me as far as traffic incidents go. I guess it's because I switched to working in the mornings, and most of the traffic is outside of the city until about 8:30-9 anyway. I usually average one, maybe two honks from motorists outraged by my trailer blocking 1/4 of "their" lane.

Today, however, there must have been something in the coffee. I counted at least 6, including one that was totally unwarranted, as I was actually riding in the bike lane on 11th street. It was a couple driving a Land Rover with a New York plate. I'm not sure what rolling down your window to yell at me to "get off the road" accomplished other than allowing a cold wind to blow into your car. Well, I guess it also partially inspired this blog post...

My favorite, however, was the woman in a white Lexus that aggressively honked at me even though I was over as far as I possibly could go and left MORE than ample room for her to pass. When we got to the next intersection, I pulled over in the crosswalk to let her pass. She all but ran the stop sign and no more than 50 yards ahead was forced to slam on the brakes. Garbage truck. Ha!

It made me think of this quote from this fantastic article in Philly Weekly about the sometimes adverse relationship between cyclists and motorists:
"Don’t take it personally. Have you seen how drivers treat each other?” This is what I tell myself: I’ve made a choice to be on the bike because it’s the best place for me to be. So I just need to find the part of it that I enjoy… and try and have some sympathy."

I'm guilty of a little schadenfreude here, but I do enjoy biking, and not just because of incidents like this.