Tuesday, August 21, 2012
out and about in the autumn-like weather
15 folks jogging the sidewalks or streets of griffin on the way to work this morning! family of 4 biking home today with kids in the cargo pull along...did the weather change or what? hellooooo griffin.
Saturday, August 4, 2012
summertime bike-to-work scene around griffin
so far i've biked to work every day of June and July, not that those are the most preferred or pleasant months in the south mind you. it's dang hot and sticky so i try to ride early. and home is a downhill coast so even tho 530pm is blazing hot, its working out fine and a quick journey home.
now when i relocated here, i searched for a house less than 2-2.5 miles from work which is downtown. knowing that the streets felt pretty flat and many had sidewalks and gorgeous tree lined lanes, i knew it'd be a scenic, easy, pleasant and downright enjoyable route to work. and it is. indeed. i can tell you when neighbors change out their flower bed, when another repositions their sprinklers (woo!), when the nannies take the babies out for walks, and if the public works crew is lining up a project. i have several errands on my route if need to stop like: Ace hardware for essentials like felt pads for furniture legs, extra citronella candles; RiteAid to grab a Rx or pack of gum; the dry cleaner (best to pick up things like boxed up wool sweaters) and put them in bike basket; and even the local bottle shop.
the real challenge is just getting folks used to seeing me on the road and respecting cyclists they encounter. after that we'll tackle actual bike/pedestrian installations (bike lanes, sidewalks, bike racks, busses w/bike racks, links to city parks and schools) to make it safer and easier. in GA, bikes are legal on the roads and have enacted a 3-foot passing law but many motorists are not aware of this.
so i do my part and, i obey all traffic signals, i wave at friendly folks, i signal my every move, and i dress in work clothes. employing a bit of the 'mary poppin effect' there. (the idea is that motorists see folks in dress clothes headed somewhere by bike and are simply more likely to identify with and thus respect them and thus not endanger them or get as fed up if delay them 10 seconds or so.) folks in lycra often appear to motorists as simply 'that guy trying to go fast for pleasure on a bike' and in my way. note, i've adopted this philosophy of attire ever since i left DC bike commuting behind in the late 90s. in those days my workplace built showers and offered free metro cards for folks willing to try an alternate commute. and i did live further away back then.
nowadays i make all career/home moves in life with my commute in mind and i design it as best i can to fit withing the 2 mile radius rule. data shows that 40% of all auto trips we take in the US are under 2 miles and yes, that includes going to work, errands, school, eating out etc. so those are the ones to target as easily doable by bike! yes, i have a car and i turn the key every couple of weeks just to make sure it cranks. :)
now when i relocated here, i searched for a house less than 2-2.5 miles from work which is downtown. knowing that the streets felt pretty flat and many had sidewalks and gorgeous tree lined lanes, i knew it'd be a scenic, easy, pleasant and downright enjoyable route to work. and it is. indeed. i can tell you when neighbors change out their flower bed, when another repositions their sprinklers (woo!), when the nannies take the babies out for walks, and if the public works crew is lining up a project. i have several errands on my route if need to stop like: Ace hardware for essentials like felt pads for furniture legs, extra citronella candles; RiteAid to grab a Rx or pack of gum; the dry cleaner (best to pick up things like boxed up wool sweaters) and put them in bike basket; and even the local bottle shop.
the real challenge is just getting folks used to seeing me on the road and respecting cyclists they encounter. after that we'll tackle actual bike/pedestrian installations (bike lanes, sidewalks, bike racks, busses w/bike racks, links to city parks and schools) to make it safer and easier. in GA, bikes are legal on the roads and have enacted a 3-foot passing law but many motorists are not aware of this.
so i do my part and, i obey all traffic signals, i wave at friendly folks, i signal my every move, and i dress in work clothes. employing a bit of the 'mary poppin effect' there. (the idea is that motorists see folks in dress clothes headed somewhere by bike and are simply more likely to identify with and thus respect them and thus not endanger them or get as fed up if delay them 10 seconds or so.) folks in lycra often appear to motorists as simply 'that guy trying to go fast for pleasure on a bike' and in my way. note, i've adopted this philosophy of attire ever since i left DC bike commuting behind in the late 90s. in those days my workplace built showers and offered free metro cards for folks willing to try an alternate commute. and i did live further away back then.
nowadays i make all career/home moves in life with my commute in mind and i design it as best i can to fit withing the 2 mile radius rule. data shows that 40% of all auto trips we take in the US are under 2 miles and yes, that includes going to work, errands, school, eating out etc. so those are the ones to target as easily doable by bike! yes, i have a car and i turn the key every couple of weeks just to make sure it cranks. :)
Thursday, August 2, 2012
dedication to bike commuting isnt always fun, but i'll never be short on stories
kaboom! thunder rattles
the 2nd floor office building and Aronda confirms, yep typical
summer-in-the-south, 5pm afternoon t-storm overhead. 'you want a ride
home?' nah, i'll wait it out and work on a facebook pitch i'm designing
for the boss. should be fun, thanks anyway. i'll call a taxi later if it
doesnt pass.
5 hours later...i'm finally home and drying out and boy do i have a story for you.
so i met the only taxi driver in griffin and surrounding area, mary dee. but she's not the only one i called, i let my fingers do the walkin and YP told me there were a few...but none of them answered. so 2-3 hours into my delay (i forget exactly b/c i was watching the olympic videos and ben harper online since i dont have a TV at home). anyway 2-3 hours after 5pm, the rain, or shall i say the big ass hovering thunderstorm, full of lightening is not moving and radar shows its settled in over griffin. so i am calling taxis and watching the olympics...and watching the sky, and no one is answering the taxi line.
so with what little fading light there is, i decide to grab my umbrella, and my bike with bright flashing taillight ON, and start walking the 1.5 miles home on the sidewalk. 3 blocks into the walk, and conveniently in front of a favorite bar/restaurant of mine (6th Street Pier) i feel the heat of a few lightening strikes and decide that walkin about all mary poppins with my brolly is not the wisest move and i would like to live to tell this story.
so, pop into 6th Street Pier, wave at the regulars and ask the owner if she knows of a taxi company in town that answers their phone. surprisingly and thankfully, she says yes, i have this one lady's number and the coppers gave it to me to send home the drunks when noone else would. great i say and ring up Mary!
and as jackie gleason used to say "and away we go", the fun really begins now. mary says she'll be 10 minutes or so and in the meantime the 9pm crowd is now finishing dinner and sees me outside under awning with bright flashy bike lights and averts their eyes and whisper, 'what is that all about' or some such confused, never seen that in griffin look. at this point mary pulls up to the curb and buckets begin to pour out of the sky as she asks me if she should let the seats down to fit the bike or just shove it in the back and tie the van door closed? i assure her it will fit and that I even know how to lift it in just so.
we shove off and i remind her that i have no cash, as i mentioned on the phone, and that we'll have to pull thru a drive-thru ATM down the block. we do and are all set to drive the now 1.25 miles to the house. and lucky enough she lives nearby too, and says she doesnt feel right charging me much, so how bout $5 bucks. deal i say and we roll to bieze street. upon arrival she turns off the elderly van to assist me with the unload and even holds the brolly over me while i pop out the bike, and head to the porch which is now 15 feet away...but before i can get there, i hear that definitive sound, grind, grind, click, click, click, click, silence. dead battery. but not totally silent b/c thunder & lightening are still booming and lighting up the sky which helps us locate the battery under the hood.
'um, mary, you want help?' 'no, its fine, i just hit these cables with the wrench sometimes and she fires right up.' i go in to let anxious charlie brown see that mom has indeed finally come home, albeit with a new friend, and learn that the wrench trick isnt working and lazy boyfriend who was called, advises mary, 'check the fuses'. mary insists i go in but i say the only reason you are out in the bitchin storm is me, so lets figure this out. an expert manuever of the subaru thru the front yard grass (which the lease says i'm not supposed to drive/park on) positions little roo well to assist old tired mary van and what's required is actually a combo of jumper cables AND the wrench tap tap, which i expertly deliver and VROOM, she fires right up.
mary now rolls off into the night, telling me not to worry if i never call her again, she knows i think she's crazy and its okay. of course i assure her that even if she is, she is the only one who answered and given my dedication to bike commuting, i'll likely be seeing her again.
5 hours later...i'm finally home and drying out and boy do i have a story for you.
so i met the only taxi driver in griffin and surrounding area, mary dee. but she's not the only one i called, i let my fingers do the walkin and YP told me there were a few...but none of them answered. so 2-3 hours into my delay (i forget exactly b/c i was watching the olympic videos and ben harper online since i dont have a TV at home). anyway 2-3 hours after 5pm, the rain, or shall i say the big ass hovering thunderstorm, full of lightening is not moving and radar shows its settled in over griffin. so i am calling taxis and watching the olympics...and watching the sky, and no one is answering the taxi line.
so with what little fading light there is, i decide to grab my umbrella, and my bike with bright flashing taillight ON, and start walking the 1.5 miles home on the sidewalk. 3 blocks into the walk, and conveniently in front of a favorite bar/restaurant of mine (6th Street Pier) i feel the heat of a few lightening strikes and decide that walkin about all mary poppins with my brolly is not the wisest move and i would like to live to tell this story.
so, pop into 6th Street Pier, wave at the regulars and ask the owner if she knows of a taxi company in town that answers their phone. surprisingly and thankfully, she says yes, i have this one lady's number and the coppers gave it to me to send home the drunks when noone else would. great i say and ring up Mary!
and as jackie gleason used to say "and away we go", the fun really begins now. mary says she'll be 10 minutes or so and in the meantime the 9pm crowd is now finishing dinner and sees me outside under awning with bright flashy bike lights and averts their eyes and whisper, 'what is that all about' or some such confused, never seen that in griffin look. at this point mary pulls up to the curb and buckets begin to pour out of the sky as she asks me if she should let the seats down to fit the bike or just shove it in the back and tie the van door closed? i assure her it will fit and that I even know how to lift it in just so.
we shove off and i remind her that i have no cash, as i mentioned on the phone, and that we'll have to pull thru a drive-thru ATM down the block. we do and are all set to drive the now 1.25 miles to the house. and lucky enough she lives nearby too, and says she doesnt feel right charging me much, so how bout $5 bucks. deal i say and we roll to bieze street. upon arrival she turns off the elderly van to assist me with the unload and even holds the brolly over me while i pop out the bike, and head to the porch which is now 15 feet away...but before i can get there, i hear that definitive sound, grind, grind, click, click, click, click, silence. dead battery. but not totally silent b/c thunder & lightening are still booming and lighting up the sky which helps us locate the battery under the hood.
'um, mary, you want help?' 'no, its fine, i just hit these cables with the wrench sometimes and she fires right up.' i go in to let anxious charlie brown see that mom has indeed finally come home, albeit with a new friend, and learn that the wrench trick isnt working and lazy boyfriend who was called, advises mary, 'check the fuses'. mary insists i go in but i say the only reason you are out in the bitchin storm is me, so lets figure this out. an expert manuever of the subaru thru the front yard grass (which the lease says i'm not supposed to drive/park on) positions little roo well to assist old tired mary van and what's required is actually a combo of jumper cables AND the wrench tap tap, which i expertly deliver and VROOM, she fires right up.
mary now rolls off into the night, telling me not to worry if i never call her again, she knows i think she's crazy and its okay. of course i assure her that even if she is, she is the only one who answered and given my dedication to bike commuting, i'll likely be seeing her again.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)