Rain, and then...

We have had a few days of brilliantly clear days, cold mornings giving way to cool afternoons. Many of the other local bloggers have been quick to point this out, either in words or by photos. Days such as these when you can see across an entire valley, from mountains to sea, or vice-versa, are such a pleasure simply because they do not occur all that often. Nearly everyone looks forward to getting back out into the sun, it is predictable. Almost as infrequent are the rain days that precede days like the past few clear, sunny ones. On these days it is often interesting to get out and see how people are reacting. 

What I saw, of course, were people getting on with their lives. Good to know that Claremontonians are not just fair-weather cyclists. Oh, and just a little shout out to one of my favorite local coffee stops, the Last Drop Cafe, when I dropped in on the wet morning I took the above photos, they were especially cheerful and agreed with me, that rain and all, it was indeed a good day to ride.

Switching Gears (via NPR)..

I heard bits of this brief story twice on the radio this morning. Encouraging story about commuting by bike, very positive perspective on the role of bikes in healthy transportation. Planetizen has a link, or you can listen to it here:

Here we go...

The new school year commenced here in Claremont today, and the boy (my son) who has ridden the half mile to grade school for the past four years, at least, was driven for his first day of intermediate school. He was planning to ride the 2 to 2.5 miles, but some things need to be sorted out first, notably in the minds of his parents. See, while I am confident of his abilities on the road, either of the two routes he would take have certain obstacles. One route would take him through the colleges and the Village with all the students coming and going. The other route would take him by first, the high school, and second, an elementary school. Mucho traffic in both cases. We all still plan on him riding at some point. Give it a week to see which of his friends are riding and arrange to ride as a group. He wants to get together with them over the long weekend and do a practice run, which is a good idea. The principal of the school is an avid cyclist and commuter who has made many infrastructure improvements, including convincing the city to realign bike lanes approaching the school, and installed a new secured bike parking facility there. So there is a lot of support at that end. It is just that first day of the unknown you have to get past.

Hmmm, hmmm...

Rarely do I come across anything written complimentary about lycra-clad roadies these days, a group I have considered myself a member of since the mid-1980s. As cycle-chic and other like-minded blogs extolling the virtues of everyday dress for everyday cycling, utility cycling, slow bike commuting, el al, have proliferated over the past couple of years, the lycra wearers have become more objects of scorn, subject to derision as law breakers, road hogs and wannabe's in clown outfits. And so I took special pleasure in reading this, and will quote in full:

"You can today recognize these sport cyclists by their very toned calves, their bent headed determination and their pointy helmets, as well as the stray pieces of cycling kit they may still wear as they speed their way to and from their places of employ. We owe these men and women a debt of gratitude for helping to stake out a piece of the street for cycles."

That's right, gratitude. I figure 25 years or so of riding, training, racing, commuting and errand running, almost always clad head to toe in the latest team kit (maybe an occasional older one) qualifies me for that group of unsung heroes. You can post up your thanks here. I think I will ride home with my head held a little higher today; but not so high that I would look down on all the cycle chic late-comers.

Returns...

Well, after an all too short hiatus from the daily commute I rejoined the throng making their/our way into the office. Somehow, at times like this, I always expect to see change, big change. Not change like "the old railroad bridge over Foothill in Rancho Cucamonga has been removed so the city can begin road realignment" kind of change, though that is big change. And yes, that does mean that the PET has a temporary disconnect along its route. I am talking about momentous change along the lines of evolutionary theory which holds that the most dramatic changes in the evolutionary past have occurred in spurts rather than gradually over long periods of time. Somehow I expect to see a major shift in the way people are getting around - bikes flooding the streets, parking lots all but empty, trains packed floor to ceiling. But alas no, reality strikes with a dull thud, the masses are still locked in their old ways, the same couple handfulls making the effort- two wheels are a viable alternative to the same old gridlocked ways. I'm not sure why this fallacy of thought persists; I am a card-carrying pessimist by nature, so there is no reason to hope that things would have dramatically improved. But still, every year after I have returned from vacation that hope is there. Maybe it is a result of time away from the grind, of having been able to relax and disconnect from everyday pettiness that leaves me renewed. At the same time, the nagging reality that nothing had changed nearly kept me from the bike. What's the use; and so I hit the snooze button twice, deciding to sell out and drive. I knew I would regret the decision, so at the last possible minute I threw everything into the messenger bag and rode out from the garage. I was greeted by the sun, the cool morning air, and nods from my fellow cyclists. Glad for the effort.

As an aside, I was able to visit Malibu over the weekend, though not on two-wheels. My sister and her family are down from Seattle and wanted to spend a day at Zuma, so we made the drive out to the coast. Controversy aside, it was great to see so many cyclists out on PCH. It has been a good 16 years (I can hardly believe so much time has passed) since I last rode that stretch. Living in Burbank at the time, taking Mulholland, down Sepulveda and San Vicente, PCH north, and Topanga Canyon back over to the Valley was a pleasure ride, especially on hot summer days. There was always a lot of traffic, but it seems like there are a lot more cars parked alongside the road now, especially in the vicinity of certain businesses. A clear example of private interests, in this case drivers and businesses, getting a free ride on the public's back; free private parking on a public roadway. This is also, of course, one of the more dangerous situations for cyclists, riding between parked cars on one side and moving vehicles on the other. If the shoulders were kept clear, I suspect there would be far less problem. I can hear the uproar, like a fog horn, over the breaking waves now.

Monday's mural...

There are a plethora of these small murals on building columns and balcony walls of dorms and other buildings around the campus of Pitzer College. For the most part they are student creations, and I suspect for that reason very few have any documentation. This one derives from a well-known portrait of Dakota leader Medicine Bottle (Wa-kan-o-zhan-zhan). Medicine Bottle participated in the war between the Dakota and United States, known to US history as the Minnesota Massacre, in 1862. Following the war he escaped to Canada, but was discovered, drugged and brought back to the United States, where in 1865 he was hanged.

I don't know if it was because today was the first day of summer and the sun was shining bright, though not hot, but there were a lot of folks out on bikes during the evening ride home. It was awesome; whatever was going on, lets have more of it. Wish I had a way to keep my camera in a more handy location, it would have made an interesting excercise to take a photo of each person I saw.

Four miles and forty percent...

One of the more interesting statistics being wafted through the air at Monday evening's Sustainable Dialogue was the one suggesting that 40% of trips by car within the city of Claremont are of 4 miles or less. Four miles; forty percent. Good god my son was riding four miles at least when he was six years old, and you are telling me that a fully functioning adult is unable to see clear to doing that pittance of a distance to take themselves to the post office, barber, or even grocery. To be absolutely blunt that is just pitiful, not to mention inexcusable. I consider Claremont to be a progressive, forward thinking community, it is the city of "trees and PhD's" after all, where sense of community is strong, and a primary reason that I have refused to consider living elsewhere. 


I have heard rumor that the city is going to expand parking at the Wilderness Park; if you have been up there recently, especially on a weekend, you are already aware of how much parking is required as cars overflow onto every local street. So to accommodate all these cars we are presumably going to pave over a little more land, say goodbye to a little more habitat. And here I had always assumed that one of the purposes of a "wilderness park" should be to preserve habitat, hmmm. In contrast there is a noticeable deficiency of bike parking. Rumor has it that more will be added. So, since most people walking up in the canyons now are there for the exercise as it is, how about going for the full effect, riding, parking your bike, and then walking the loop. A little more workout, a little less habitat loss, win-win all around. 


Now to get back on topic, it is awesome that so many people are getting outdoors, combating modern society's nature deficit disorder by walking the ± five mile loop. I repeat 5 miles. If people can conquer five miles of hilly terrain, certainly they can do four miles of mostly flat terrain within town. The beauty of taking these short trips by foot or bike, of course, is that you meet your neighbors, strengthening ties and sense of community, while at the same time living a more healthy lifestyle. And now before I risk getting too preachy, if I have not reached that point already, I shall finish today by admonishing everyone to just give it a try.


And try this when you have a spare moment. Open Google Earth, find Claremont, draw a 2 or 4 mile long line. Save the image and open in a program that will allow you to draw a circle. It is pretty interesting to see just how much falls within a two and four mile radius of home.

Another...

wet morning commute but, this time with gears.

People seem to disappear on nice soft days like this. Only saw two other riders, during the whole ten mile ride.

New ride...

Over the weekend just past, I took the plunge and bought that Origin 8 (run together and pronounce 'originate' Uno) fixed-gear bike which had been hanging out at The Velo. Sealing the deal was finding out that I would not have to buy a new rear wheel to convert it to a single-speed, non-fixed gear. Ain't innovation (in the form of the flip-flop hub) wonderful. I made the 10 mile trek to work on it today, as well as the 12 mile return, and let me tell you it is a different demon entirely with just one gear, 46-16 in this case.  I have never been one to do a lot of shifting anyway, but it became a bit of a task to maintain speed on the run in to work (slightly downhill). Not much difference on the evening return home, but then the prevailing headwind pounds me no matter what I ride. I can certainly see why riding a single-speed bike will make you stronger. Now I do not see this new bike replacing the ol' yellow Basso as top road dog in the garage, but it does present a new challenge, and I do like a good challenge.

Rain coming?

Clouds from the incoming storm already hugging the mountain tops. Might get wet on the ride home this evening. It's cool though, whenever I am caught out in the rain, I just imagine I am riding Paris-Roubaix; some of the streets are bad enough to be cobbled sections.

Friday feedzone and Quotable links...

Welcome to this recap of some of the interesting stories from the week, a day late (last evening was a little busy). Coast to coast, issues with simple respect, whether it be respect for the law, or respect from our fellow human were, unfortunately brought to the fore. From San Francisco, to New York, individuals in positions of authority overstep their bounds. The city of Burbank shows it does know how to design a road for all users. I like how much I have been reading about cycling in my old stomping grounds of NELA lately, and now bike corrals too. I have long considered driving to be the most boring and mind numbing of the chores that I would have to do, Streetsblog looks at the true cost of that miserable car commute.

Commute season...

The beginning of daylight savings time ushers in bike commute season. Though I have participated in the year-round bike commute, it has been a few years since I last did, and so lately I have been suffering the winter months in anticipation of DLS time. I don't particularly enjoy waking before light breaks through the blinds, but being able to hit the road before the sun ascends the mountains on the horizon makes it worthwhile. A bit of chill still in the air, drivers not yet in the morning rush, witness to the southern California sunrise, and eavesdropping on the crows gathering for their morning meet and greet, when they plan the day's raucous adventures, are among the highlights. Everything just seems slower, more relaxed at this time of the day.

the Deer Creek section (one of my little shorcuts that Google maps doesn't know about) with a little snow remaining on Cucamonga Peak

the yellow Basso has arrived.

So I spent a little time this morning checking into Google map's new bicycling additive, and come away from it with... mixed results. I chose destinations with which I was familiar (since I can not judge what I do not know). The first route went from home to work; this was not too bad, and mostly followed one of the two routes that I normally take. A few problems, however, were encountered. First, while the route utilizes the Pacific Electric Trail, part of the way, it is never identified as such in the directions which could be confusing to someone unfamiliar. Second, at one point a photo with overlaying arrows indicate that the route enters a gated housing development, with directions telling you to "continue onto Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway. Hmmm. Once you are there, if you make it that far, it is clear where you need to go - continue along the P.E.T. which is adjacent to the gated development, but again this might get a little confusing. Third, the final leg directs you to take Haven Avenue, a six to eight land auto racetrack where speeds regularly are in excess of 50 mph, and completely lacking in cycling infrastructure. No good.

The second test went from home to the Frank G. Bonelli Regional Park, a favorite weekend route of mine. The directions for this were exceedingly complicated with too many unnecessary turns. I can do this ride by essentially taking four streets; Google maps, meanwhile, recommended nearly ten times more. Enough said.

The third test was for a route my son might take to the local middle school. This one, like the first test, was not too bad, certainly as good as any alternatives I could come up with.

I guess my biggest complaint with the program is that it gives a one size fits all answer. The comfort level of one person may not be the same as the next person. A street that one person would not dream of riding on may be perfectly acceptable to another. Many people who use this program will not look beyond the arrow on the map, or the street by street directions, to realize that there may be a more direct route, or one on "safer" streets. That in a nutshell is the main problem with these type of direction guides / mapping aids, they do not encourage users to explore alternatives, rather than blindly follow directions.

Did familiarity with the area and routes give me an advantage. Undoubtedly, and that is my point; you cannot replicate experience and knowledge. Use Google map as a starting point if you must, but be willing to grow beyond it's limited offering.

Friday feedzone...

Another week has come and gone. This week's feedzone fill includes Khal, who argues that the handfull of deaths attributed to mechanical issues in Toyota cars over the past decade is small potatos, how about the 400,000 deaths resulting from poor driving practices, and what we really need is a recall on negligent drivers. The Round Rock School District in Texas uses cycling and computers to encourage kids to exercise in the battle against childhood obesity. If a city the size of Missoula, Montana can get behind active transporation, why is it so hard to do in the City of Angels? And finally, the Tour of California unveils a whopper of a stage - stage 6, from Pasadena to Big Bear, 135 miles and over 12,000 feet of climbing.