A Sharrowing Tale...

Well, not really.

I've known that these are referred to as sharrows:

Share + Arrows = Sharrows. Clever.

What I didn't know (and found out today) was that they are actually strategically placed to reduce the risk of being hit by car doors. I found it on Wikipedia, so that means it has to be true. Hah... I just assumed they were placed on roads to make motorists aware of lane-sharing. I guess I need to pay more attention.

Rustcycles: 5th & Washington

This is a delayed post, and plenty odd...

Whoever owns this bike actually took the time to remove the rear tire before locking their bike to this electric pole:

Good idea, except they left their seat attached, and some peeps will try to steal anything that's not locked down. I'm not sure if they were trying to steal the tube or just mess with the bike, but it appears that they realized there was no way to remove it without removing the chain (or cutting the tube) and decided to just leave it:

As I said, this one is quite bizarre, but since I took this picture several weeks ago, I have seen a few other attempted tube removals like this...people are strange.

Rustcycles is a series of abandoned bicycles and locks I've stumbled upon throughout Philadelphia.

Nice Rack: 22nd & Parrish

Aww, that's so cute. They're bicycles:

Nice Racks is a series of bike rack art I've stumbled upon in Philadelphia.

They Call me the Worksman

Actually, they don't. The mild pun will make sense later on in this post. But first an aside...

Yesterday, I mentioned that it's been downright gloomy around here lately, and I've been searching for bright spots. The mural next to the laundromat was doubly nice this morning:

Update: the weather finally broke this afternoon after I had started writing this

That's actually painted on the side of the last remaining row home on the block, which has been converted into a baptist church. What I'm more interested in are the garden beds in the foreground. Gotta find out who those belong to...

Our laundromat (and our fleet) received some sprucing up as well:

I'm not sure if matching the blues was intentional, but color coordination makes the obsessive compulsive side of me very happy. I also enjoy the new Worksman trike you see up there. Only 3 speeds, but it's got an electric assist (for those serious hills north of the wall) and can haul some serious ass. Just gotta be careful around those turns...the cornering leaves a bit to be desired.

My supervisor told me to push its limits if possible (gotta know if she's gonna be able to handle our worst, right?). That's easy enough:

That's 8 bags of laundry, each weighing about 40 pounds, packed into that bin. Piece of friggin' cake.

I'm not sure if this is gonna be my full-time ride, but I enjoyed being on a grown-up tricycle this week. Who doesn't love a little regression? Happy Friday.

St. Francis of a Tree - See?

The last few days have been overcast, rainy and cold here in the City of Brotherly Love. The environmentalist in me loves it - we seriously needed the rain. The outdoor enthusiast in me hates it - gray and overcast is great in the Pacific Northwest where the trees, ferns and vegetation appear bright green by comparison, but not so great when everything else in the city also appears to be gray. Riding around had gotten somewhat boring until out of the corner of my eye I saw this on North 19th Street:

Now, I probably pass by this every day on my way home from the laundromat, but for whatever reason, I didn't notice it until today (I also didn't notice the neat old-school post office in the background). It's a nice piece of art ala Isaiah (though not the same). Equally nice to see a dead tree turned into something lively. You can also see the opposite side of an adorned stone wall that's unfortunately cracked:

I know a stone mason who would be very disappointed...but nonetheless, this was a bright spot in what's been an otherwise gray week.

I'm still trying to find the history on this artwork, so if anyone has any tips, let me know.

IndeGo In the Clutch

A few weeks ago, I mildly insulted the new IndeGo BikeShare in Philly. Wouldn't you know it? Today it saved my ass.

That's ANOTHER flat rear tire - why do flats ALWAYS happen on the rear tire? Fronts are much easier to fix, that's why!

At any rate, I had just left Thompson Street and was on my way to the Wash Cycle office to take care of some administrative BS when it happened. Luckily, it happened two blocks from the IndeGo station at Logan Square. Of course I didn't like the idea of having to pay for a bike, but I guess it's better than taking a cab. It rode rather nicely too, even though it's a bit bulkier than my hog.

Thanks to bike sharing, I made it to the office on time and all the other things I had to do this afternoon weren't too adversely impacted. One big plus: I didn't have to return the bike to where I picked it up. I rode the bike to 4th & Christian (which is pretty close to my neighborhood) and took my car to pick up my bike. Maybe I should stop my hatin'.

In hindsight, with the amount of construction zones in this city (and the fact that I had just rode directly past one), I'm surprised I don't end up with more flats. Hah. Now to get my hands greasy...

Rustcycles: 21st & Chestnut

I took the above picture several months ago, forgot to post it, and then happened to walk by this same spot last night with my roommate. The frame is still there.

Rustcycles is a series of abandoned bicycles and locks I've stumbled upon throughout Philadelphia.