Loop-Frame Love

New website!

noreply@blogger.com (Deborah) — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 05:11:00 +0000

We are moving! Please visit our new website at loopframelove.com

Announcing a few little changes

noreply@blogger.com (Deborah) — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 01:10:00 +0000

As you know, people and blogs change over time. Often, bloggers just stop writing and start a new blog as their interests shift; sometimes their blog grows and changes with them instead. We are aiming for the latter.

We've always felt that the best way we could make change with this blog was by just documenting our lives. If I can repack a bottom bracket, anyone can (although you might prefer to get someone else to do it for you). If we can figure out how to live car-light in streetcar suburbs or neighborhoods on the edge of town, with young families, anyone can. Cycling is not just for hipster messenger dudes on fixies, weekend warriors on mountain bike trails or training in pelotons, wierdo commuters on hybrids wearing safety orange and big beards, and willowy fashion models with adorable outfits that match their bikes - it's for everyone. We hope we add to the diversity of bicycle bloggers and demystify living with bicycles.

LFL has outgrown our Blogspot space, literally: we are rapidly running out of room for the photographs that we so enjoy sharing. So, this spring, we are relaunching at loopframelove.com, with a redesigned website using Wordpress that we hope will make it easier to navigate, and we know will give us more room for all the pretties. With a little luck I'll have it all sorted out and the switchover made by the end of the weekend.

We also are going to welcome some new co-bloggers. I have been busy with The Local Good and Sustainable Slow Stylish, Angel's wrist is still healing and she is busy with a new job, and Jen in Seattle has been expending her energy on the greenways initiative instead of documenting it here (stay tuned for news on that). So, we realized that we need to bring in additional collaborators, and when I met Emma I just knew that she would bring wonderful new energy to the blog. (She will introduce herself shortly. She's rad, you're going to love her, and I can't wait to read her posts about her tandem adventures.)

Finally, we are planning monthly Critical Lass rides for 2013, including extending for the first time into the winter months, and our first-ever Kidical Mass (for families). With the goals of growing the awareness and attendance of Critical Lass, I created a Make Something Edmonton profile and a Facebook profile for it this morning (previously we only used twitter and FB event listings, which have limitations). The brand-new Facebook Page will also make it much easier for us to plan and communicate about the event - please go take a look and click 'Like' right now. We will also be making some decsions through discussion there; we're thinking, for clarity of messaging and simplicity of planning, of choosing the same day each month, the same starting point, and possibly the same route (which would reduce the burden of planning and make sure people have way more advance notice).

Critical Lass Edmonton: October

noreply@blogger.com (Deborah) — Sun, 14 Oct 2012 01:37:00 +0000

DIY street seating at our rendezvous point.
I'm not sure if it's that October is busy, or that people had forgotten, but our turnout was unusually low today. (Related: anyone know what Facebook did with the thing that lets you send an event reminder email? Is it gone?)

Karen and her Linus Dutchie. Love those boots.

Turned out I had dressed too warmly, based on the morning's cooler weather. I also discovered on my ride that Miss Trudy, who I only ever ride with the kids, has an issue with her higher two gears. (I brought Trudy, the '72 Phillips, today because I haven't taken Eliza for new tires yet.)

We took the newly-repaved 83rd Ave down to 97 St, then south to Ritchie Community League to take in a little of the bike polo tournament happening this weekend. When we visited, some of the guys we met at last fall's Tweed Ride were playing, along with some visitors from Calgary. I don't have a clue how the game is played but it looks FUN, and I am so impressed with the skill this takes. Must learn how to trackstand.

The rad hoodies and tshirts are for sale BTW.
Swing by tomorrow to watch the rest of the tournament.

This is A. from Calgary's NiceGuys.
Check out her gorgeous Masi mixte and the team's wicked spoke protectors.

Waiting for their game to start.

Next we headed on to the Blue Chair Cafe, just a block south of the bike polo tourney,
in time for the menu switchover from brunch to supper.

I had the frittata.

Karen had salad rolls.

After a lovely meal and a flurry of text messages,
we headed over to Faculte Saint-Jean, via 76th Avenue and 89th Street.

Where 76 Ave dips into Millcreek Ravine is really pretty and just steep enough to be a fun coast.

You can see my mustard sweater tights in this shot - they match the cardigan I was wearing under my coat. Bright colour and lots of layers seemed like a great idea earlier in the day when it was colder and greyer, but by the end of the ride I needed only a tshirt.

Karen outside the Cite building on Saint-Jean's small campus.

Plaque outside the Cite.

To our delight, Coreen caught up to us riding her 'new old CCM'.
It actually took me a sec to process that she wasn't on Poplar.
The '46 CCM is truly beautiful in person. Go read its story at the link.

We went exploring inside the Cite building briefly, then hopped back in the saddle and headed back toward the U of A via a steep shortcut through Mill Creek Ravine and the multiuse trail along Saskatchewan Drive, after which we parted ways.

This is where 87 Avenue heads down into the ravine. The photo is blurry because it's steep, fast, and in need of repaving. At the bottom there is a small off-leash dog park, which in daytime will often be in use, then a choice between a steep trail or stairs to get back out. There's a reason most people ride on Whyte Ave to cross the ravine instead - but I'm so glad we checked it out.

The view of downtown from Saskatchewan Drive.
(Okay, I cheated and went back with my camera after the ride to get this shot.)

Many of the (elm?) trees on Saskatchewan Drive have yet to turn colour.

Back in Garneau beside the University. Many roads in Garneau are closed to cars right now due to construction (which also makes parking a bit more challenging) - but a bike can sail past all the barriers. It looks like they've knocked down a bunch of old houses that had been used as student housing and office space. I wonder what they're building?

A tale of two street fairs

noreply@blogger.com (antijen) — Sun, 16 Sep 2012 06:16:00 +0000

Part 1: San Francisco's Mission District

In May, I went to San Francisco for a business trip. I booked a Sunday morning flight, so that I could have the afternoon free for fun. With great luck, I was able to join Hum of the City and her family to the Mission District Street Fair. We'd only "met" via twitter and blog comments before and it was a delight to meet her in person. Fun fact - we're both in the medical sciences field, but had no idea until we met that day.

"Hum" rode her honest-to-god Japanese Mamachari, which she's posted on extensively. All I can add is that any bike shop that doesn't think there is a market for ready-made family transportation bikes is in denial. Or doesn't talk to parents. Seriously - every time she takes this bike out, people stop her to ask where they can get one. I want one - and my kid's far too big for it.

Her husband and son rode this fantastically designed trailer bike. It's attached via a rear rack, making it super stable, just like our Burley Piccolo. However, it attaches at the very back, leaving the top of the rack available for cargo or a rear child seat. In contrast, the Piccolo has a giant knob in the middle of the rack, so the sides can be used for panniers, but a child seat cannot be attached. The downside? It's only available in Germany. I need to start expanding my linkedin network to more international scientists, so that I have access to some of the cool bikes available overseas.

I got to ride the Brompton - see how many cool bikes they have? I found the handling a little weird at first, but quickly got used to it. I've been admiring these baby-wheeled devices for well over a year now. I haven't come up with a convincing rational for why I need to buy one yet, but it's only a matter of time.

Once we reached the Mission District, the party was in full swing and the streets were filled with people. People walking, people riding bikes - the atmosphere was incredibly mellow and happy. We did need to use our slow-biking skills to weave through the crowd. But hey - at this point we were already at our destination, so what's the hurry?

We traveled the whole length of the street fair, stopping to watch performances, including this cabaret/acrobatics group, and the obligatory bathroom & snacks stop. We were very sad when the party ended with a police sweep and a return to normal traffic.

Yes, I have now joined the ranks of people who take pictures of infrastructure in their spare time. At least I didn't run out into traffic to get a better shot.

Our route home went along "The Wiggle", which wins for the best named bike route EVAH. The city has recently replaced the original sharrows with the green version above. They're bright and I love them. There is no way you could miss a turn marked with these babies.

Part 2: Seattle's Greenwood Street Fair

Last month, Seattle's Greenwood neighborhood had their street fair. By a terrific coincidence, Hum of the City was here for a visit, staying with Family Ride! The family biking blogosphere can be such a small world some times. This time we were there at the very start of the street fair, which was a strangely gradual affair. "Oh look, they've closed off the street! Let's go, kids! Whoops, there are still cars coming, get back to the side!" Fortunately, it wasn't too long before the streets were really, truly closed to cars and the party began.

Spencer did loops. And needs his seat raised. How did he grow so quickly?

I was really happy to see Spencer and Theo have so much fun together. A lot of my Seattle bikey friends have younger kids, so he really enjoyed having a new friend his age.

Despite the difference in height, Theo is 2 weeks older than Spencer.

Family Ride, being lapped by a balance bike.

The streets were full, but not quite as crowded as at the San Francisco Fair. We ran into a number of friends with whom we had to stop and chat. There was bike decorating, a (very) brief kids' parade, and some fun performances, including a high rise trapeze act.

My photo doesn't do this justice - her act involved a lot of spinning around and was a lot of fun.

The audience was enthralled.

A Hawaiian dance troupe put on a performance and let the boys try out the poi balls. The difference between poi and nunchuks is thin, particularly to 6 year old boys. Oh well, at least they were wearing helmets. Alway dance in helmets, folks - think of your brains!

Look out!

A bouquet of helmets

After a lot of street partying, we were all getting hungry. There really weren't any street vendors, so we locked our bikes and helmets into an impressive pile and tried to get a table at a nearby restaurant. Alas the wait was long and our party was large, containing many children, so it was not to be. We had to say our goodbyes and get home before dark. It was so much fun to be out and having fun in the street and meeting friends, new and old!

Critical Lass Edmonton: Highlands

noreply@blogger.com (Deborah) — Sun, 09 Sep 2012 18:13:00 +0000

We had a gorgeous day for a ride yesterday, 20-ish and sunny with a crisp breeze.
Unfortunately great weather and short notice meant not many people came out. Oh well, their loss!

Karen wore a beautiful vintage pencil skirt and a summery shirt from a local boutique.

I wore my new-to-me vintage polka-dot accordion-pleated skirt
with sailor stripes, antique bakelite bangles, and a Tibetan beeswax amber necklace.

Our route to the Highlands: across High Level Bridge and down the bike path to McEwan, then east on 106th Ave to Little Italy, then north on a side street to 112th Ave, which as it turned out was down to one lane with construction, so we rode on the sidewalk away from the frustrated motorists. The whole ride took us about an hour...

...including our stop at the Italian Centre en route for a snack and a cold drink.

Our destination was the two-block shopping district in Highlands (112 Ave & 65th Street), an early 20th-century streetcar suburb with fantastic Arts-and-Crafts architecture and mature trees. We met Sarah and her beautiful daughter at Mandolin Books & Coffee, grabbed iced coffees and sweets (the date squares and the chocolate cookies are delish), and walked a couple of blocks to the neighborhood playground. When we got a text from Judy, we headed back, said bye to Sarah and her sweetie, then spent a happy hour browsing used books, locally-made clothing, gorgeous yarns, furniture, and flowers.

Sarah and her charming daughter. I love the yarn-bombed bicycle racks on this block.

Karen, Judy, and me after a little shopping and a lot of visiting. The plan (at Sarah's suggestion) was to take Ada Boulevard, then head back to downtown to meet some friends at What The Truck for supper.

A horse-drawn carriage passing us on Ada Boulevard.

The view to the east of Refinery Row.

Highlands Golf Course and the view across the river valley from the spot where we pulled off to snap some photos.

Judy always looks effortlessly chic. Today she was wearing khaki skinnies with pointy-toed flats.

The highway and bridge behind Karen are Wayne Gretzky Drive and Capilano Bridge.

Can anyone tell me what the paper flags on the lawn at Concordia campus were about?

The view of downtown where Ada Boulevard turns, with a bit of lens flare.

As I had been riding, I had noticed that my egg crate seemed even more rattley than usual, and my kickstand kept needing to be adjusted because it wouldn't stay put. Just after I took the photo above, a lovely fellow stopped us and told me my rear tire was flat. Oh, so that was the problem! I quickly realized I'd been flat since before our arrival in Highlands. The tube wouldn't hold any air at all, so we ended our ride with a walk to the nearest LRT station (along a pretty residential route with a nice tree canopy that the same gent had suggested we take).

The LRT had to stop for a few minutes on the bridge over the North Saskatchewan River and wait for the track to clear, so I was able to get a shot of the streetcar on top of the neighboring High Level Bridge.

The view upriver through the LRT car's door.

The offending tire, flat as a pancake. When I got home I took a careful look at it, and it seems I picked up a sliver of glass - probably on 106th Street on our way to Highlands. Amazingly, the rim doesn't seem any worse for wear, at least to my untrained eye. Steel is amazing stuff.

My spoils from the day's adventures: flowers from Sugar Blossoms, a reference book from Mandolin Books & Coffee, silk yarn from Wool Revival, and a top with lace sleeves from Sabrina Butterfly.
After Eliza's repairs I guess that list will also include new tubes and,
since they'll have to take the wheel off anyway, new tires to replace the 70s-era originals.

Isaak Kornelsen Deserved Better.

noreply@blogger.com (Deborah) — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 10:24:00 +0000

Video from the beautiful Critical Mass memorial Ride For Isaak by Andriko Lozowy, via YouTube.

Others have written much more eloquently than I can manage about the tragic, horrifying death of 21-year-old Isaak Kornelsen, who lost his life while cycling on Whyte Avenue in late August, and the infrastructure deficit that put him in danger. I refer you to their posts:

Mourning A Fellow Cyclist and Riding For Isaak on Breaking Chains and Taking Lanes (with links to news reports and other blog posts)
Why Didn't He Just Ride Down 83rd Ave? on Boots On The Ground
RIP Isaak Kornelsen and What Now? Making Whyte Ave Safer For Cyclists Part 1 and Part 2 on Green Edmonton
Where Do Bikes Fit In On Roads? from iNews880 (with comments from... the Alberta Motor Association?!?)
Better Bike Infrastructure by city councillor Ben Henderson

My heart breaks for Isaak Kornelsen's family and many friends, and I feel I am poorer for not having known him. Certainly the world is poorer without him.

I still feel ill whenever I think of the accident - and the ignorant, callous, victim-blaming comments I have seen made in certain quarters. The attitude that cyclists and pedestrians are inconveniences and obstacles to legitimate road traffic, instead of real people, particularly upsets me. Some have suggested banning the use of bicycles on Whyte altogether, and forcing cyclists to use the side streets, which misses the point that road safety is about making streets safe for everyone, not removing vulnerable users from them. I'm convinced that adding off-street parking in the form of another parkade and using what is now a parking lane to create a separated bike lane along Whyte Avenue would be a win-win for cyclists and motorists. If only it didn't take a ~~'freak accident'~~ completely preventable death to catalyze these important conversations about road safety and incomplete infrastructure.

(Isaak Kornelsen was not the only Edmontonian to needlessly lose their life while on a bicycle this year, although his death is being more widely mourned. While on a cycling vacation with her husband in July, 63-year-old Elizabeth Ann Sovis was struck from behind by a van driven by a man with multiple prior convictions for drunk driving. Follow up reports stressed that she was a cautious bicyclist, and Cycling PEI held a small memorial ride for her. The narrow, shoulderless country roads of PEI probably won't get any infrastructure upgrades, despite the promotion of the province as a cycle touring destination. The driver will go to trial this autumn. Ms Sovis was a French teacher, close to retirement, and her death has played out as a private tragedy because of her age and the location of her accident - but it was just as preventable.)

Cycle chic, personal style, and feminism

noreply@blogger.com (Deborah) — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 21:31:00 +0000

(Forgive me, folks, I'm a couple of months behind on my blog reading, but I had to share my thoughts on this...)

So. Wanting to wear stylish clothing on my bicycle makes me a tool of the patriarchy?

*Eyeroll*

Heaven knows there are lots of sexualized 'cycle chic' photos that have been circulated that have almost nothing to do with bicycles and everything to do with the male gaze - for amazing commentary on that see Sweet Georgia Brown - and lots of other 'cycle chic' photos that have everything to do with selling us stuff we don't need. The criticism that the cycle chic movement is vulnerable to being co-opted by sexism and consumerism is a valid one. However. That doesn't mean the movement itself is sexist and consumerist.

On a continent where girls stop using their bikes sometime in their teens because they think it makes them look dorky, and where the idea that bicycling is a fringe activity is used to justify rolling back funding of much-needed bike infrastructure, I believe that photos of women and men (of all ages, sizes, and shapes) enjoying bicycle rides to go places and do things help to make cycling more accessible.

As for the perception that cycle chic prescribes a particular, exclusive, commercial version of fashionable: I do not believe that expensive clothes, or expensive bikes, are a prerequisite for cycle chic. That line about your clothes being more valuable than your bike in the Cycle Chic Manifesto? I think its author is talking about using the bike as a tool for living - along the lines of his post about your bike being like a vacuum cleaner. I stand with Velouria on that topic, and think emotional attachment to bikes we've customized to our tastes is part of what makes bicycling appealing - but the point is that perhaps he's using 'value' (not expense) as a stand-in for relative importance. He's saying it's not about the bike, it's about your personal style and your needs, and that your bike should suit you, not the other way around.

I don't believe that youth and a standard definition of beauty are requirements of cycle chic, either.

It doesn't matter if you wear something you've made, something you've thrifted, something you found in a big-box bargain bin or something you had to get on a haute couture wait-list to buy. It doesn't matter if you're twenty or forty or eighty. What matters - with both personal style, and cycle chic - is that you feel great about yourself, and that you're having fun. To me, the most attractive thing about any photo of a bicyclist is the sense that they're having fun on their bike. They look great because they feel great, no matter what they're wearing.

I'm a 40-year-old plus-size mother of two who lives in the suburbs. I ride relatively inexpensive workhorse 3-speeds, for fun and the occasional grocery run, and I stop riding when the snow flies (icy roads plus drivers not expecting to see cyclists in outer-ring subdivisions is a bad combination). I have a closet full of jeans and t-shirts and thrift-shop finds and handmade jewelry. I rarely wear makeup, and I don't do designer labels (Well, I have this one scarf, but it's not an obvious status piece.). I am a chic cyclist, and a feminist, and an advocate for better bicycle infrastructure and more sustainable living.

None of these facts preclude any of the others.

What a shame that some bicycle advocates don't see it that way. I guess they're just not listening.

(PS: Yes, I know there's an issue with the Disqus comments right now - I am waiting on their support people to tell me how to fix it. Apparently they upgraded their back end and broke the CSS somehow. Meanwhile, you can read the white-text-on-white-background if you highlight the comments.)

Kidical Mass rides in Novembrrr!

noreply@blogger.com (antijen) — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 04:12:00 +0000

After following the Totcycle blog for a couple of years, I finally had a chance to join his Kidical Mass ride last week. The occasion was the grand opening of the Ship Canal Trial. It's a great piece of bike infrastructure as it lets people get from Magnolia and the Ballard Locks to the Fremont bridge, without having to take a confusing and not-particularly friendly interchange near the Ballard Bridge.

The forcast was for chilly, with a possibility of rain and/or snow. Chilly by Seattle standards, of course, which translates to 35-40F (2-4C). I hadn't taken Spencer for a winter ride before, and I was a little concerned about how to dress him. I started digging through the closet to find last year's winter gear. The snow pants fit great, but were probably unnecessary. Tried to find toques without pompom that would fit under bike helmets. The good mitts were left at karate class. And Spencer's winter coat looked awfully short in the sleeves. This is when I began to feel like a lousy mother and a lousy Canadian. Didn't I know that winter was coming? Has it ever skipped a year? In the end, the best solution was to wear last year's coat and a warm pair of my mitts that were long enough to cover his wrist, even with the somewhat too short sleeves. Extra sweaters, scarfs and toques were added, I packed the pannier, and we were ready to roll.

When we got to the end of the driveway, it became clear that I had overreacted and we were both terribly overdressed. So, we stopped to strip off layers, and my pannier was then stuffed with fleece for the rest of the day. Still, I'm glad we had the mitts and scarf - little bodies get cold quickly. Especially, when they don't help much with the pedaling. Finally, we were on our way and were only a little bit late to our meeting place at the Ballard Library.

Spencer was ready to go.

Despite the chilly weather, there was a great turnout. I didn't get a complete head count, but suspect it must have been about 40 people. And the bikes! There were at least three Madsens, one Bakfiet, a couple of trailers and two trail-a-bikes. Clearly, this was a very bikey crowd.

We rode west on NW 57th St., one of our candidates for a neighborhood greenway. It's always fun riding with such a big group. We can chat with folks, admire the different bikes and swap stories. Of course we're still careful about traffic, but we don't really have to worry about visibility with a group of this size! We took 28th Ave NW and then Market St. to the Ballard Locks, where we had to dismount to cross the canal. There is no denying that this was a production. The walkways across the locks are relatively narrow - there's just enough room for a bike and pedestrian to cross each other. A group of cargo and family bikes takes a long time to cross. Fortunately, traffic was very light - there aren't many tourists out on a chilly November morning.

The locks were still pumped dry for their annual maintenance. We could see a few folks working away at the bottom, which gives a sense of how big it really is. The barnacles clinging to the wall were starting to get rather stinky by this point. It didn't seem to bother the crows and gulls, though - they were still enjoying their sushi.

See the three white dots? Those are the workers in their white hard hats.

After many photos and three separate bathroom breaks, we were finally ready to continue on our way. We rode along Commodore Way and through Fisherman's Terminal. It's a light industrial area without a bike lane, but the road is relatively wide and there was hardly any traffic. We arrived under the Ballard Bridge just in time for the opening ceremony. A good sized crowd of cyclists and walkers had gathered by this time.

Peter Hahn, the head of SDOT, gave a speech and cut the ribbon with very big pair of scissors.

However, for our group, the big attraction was Julian's thermos of hot apple cider to warm those chilly fingers.

Before too long, we were on our way. I don't have any photos of the new trail, yet, but there's a nice one here. It's a pleasant ride that I'll definitely check out again and will be my preferred route between the Pier 91 trail and the Fremont Bridge. However, there is a rather annoying double 2-curve to cross the train tracks. I know they need to slow bike traffic down and direct folks to cross at a right angle, but this really seems excessive. Still, it's a minor flaw in an otherwise great trail.

After crossing back across the Fremont Bridge, we split up to get food and then met again at the Fremont Brewery. This was my first time there, and I'm delighted to discover such a cool place. It's a local microbrewery which makes absolutely delicious beer. It's a tasting room, not a full-fledged bar and they don't sell food, but allow you to bring your own it. It's really a big room with picnic tables at one end and big, shiny vats at the other, but seemed cosy and friendly. It's also remarkably family-friendly - they even have a couple of baskets of toys! Only in Seattle. Sadly, I have no good photos from this part of the trip, so you'll have to take my word for it until you can go there yourself.

After food, a beer and lots of chatting and tracking down stray children, it was time to go. We'd had a full day and I knew we were in the pre-melt down phase. Plus, Spencer was getting tired too. We weren't the only ones who'd had enough. Thirty seconds earlier, this little guy had been flopped over the edge of his bucket seat. If only I'd been able to get my camera out earlier.....

It was a great group and a terrific ride. I hope we can do it again soon! And I did buy my son a new winter coat the next day.

Scenes From Tweed Ride

noreply@blogger.com (Deborah) — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 05:03:00 +0000

Sweet poster, via the Facebook event page.

Today I went to the Edmonton Tweed Ride with a few friends. Despite rain that ended at the last minute, there were an impressive number of people who came out. We had a wonderful time, met lots of great people, and rode a perfectly gorgeous route through the river valley.

It started pouring mid-afternoon, but - thank goodness - it stopped in time.
Here is Eliza, dried off and ready to go after a rejuvenating tea at Karen's.
The City of London souvenir hankie tied to the vintage purse is a sly little homage.

The bike pile in front of Pembina Hall.

Sarah rides this Vulcan with the adorable bell and basket she scored at Calgary's BikeBike.

Even Robert was dressed to impress.

Loving the argyle socks.

Coreen sewed her outfit, isn't it rad?

Gorgeous, bubbly Sarah. Love her skirt and boots.

Impressive trackstanding skillz. Loved her flapper dress.

Organizer Neil telling us about our route and destination.

Down Saskatchewan Drive,

and across the road into Belgravia,

where the sun decided to join us.

At the top of (the former) Keillor Road we paused to chat with another group of cyclists.

After taking it slooooow coming down the switchbacks - because I was more than a bit nervous about my rod brakes in the wet road conditions- Judy and I had Keillor Road to ourselves. So pretty. In another week or so the leaves will have all fallen.

Notice the point-blanket scarf. This is how Canadians do Tweed.

At the other side of the bridge across Whitemud Creek everyone was waiting for us slowpokes and having a lovely chat.

Judy took a great photo of me - thanks Judy!

Our destination, after a bit more riding: the new(ish) Fort Edmonton Foot Bridge.

Judy admires the view upriver.

We stopped at the midpoint of the span to hang out.

The downriver view. Pretty!

Everyone looked so great. I wish my photos turned out better - my candid approach doesn't always work.

Luckily there were a lot of cameras there. Here are some great shots that Tess took, for example.
I'm sure more will get posted to blogs over the next few days.

Kevin demonstrates his mad trackstanding skillz.

You are here.

On Keillor Road on the way back. Some of the horses were in the field at the equestrian centre.

Taking a breather at the top of the hill on the Saskatchewan Drive MUP.

Soon after this we parted ways - some of us needed to get home early,
while the rest carried on to get dinner and drinks at The Next Act.

Neil tells me there will be another Tweed Ride next Spring! Can't wait!

POSTSCRIPT:
There are more great photos and a video of the ride at TuckamoreDew (as mentioned in the comments).
I also found a ride report with links to others' photos from the first Edmonton Tweed Ride (in 2009)!

Moving Planet Seattle

noreply@blogger.com (antijen) — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 05:18:00 +0000

Saturday was the Moving Planet Seattle Event. The theme was transportation, so it was fitting that folks met around the city for group rides to Lake Union Park. About 20 of us met in Ballard for the ride, including three families.

Our trail-a-bike.

A kindred spirit had an Xtracycle.

A tandem bike completed the set.

Our fearless leaders set the pace in the awesome, traffic-stopping conference bike from the Dutch Bike Company. This beast is mighty, but slow and a tad too wide for the trails. So, we took a traffic lane and made a slow parade to Lake Union Park, with enthusiastic waving and bell-ringing at passersby. Once there, the group dispersed to explore the different events, though we did run into each other throughout the day. Metaphorically speaking, that is.

The conference bike in all its glory.

The Center for Wooden Boats had wooden sailboats for kids to play with on the boat pool. Spencer was so excited to see the boats, that I could barely get him to leave long enough to lock up our bike. We probably spent 20-30 minutes there.

I was more excited to see this bike, which looked suspiciously familiar....

After looking around for likely suspects, I took a deep breath and asked "Hey, are you the Family Ride blogger? I recognize your bike." Yes! It was Madi from Family Ride, who was friendly, charming and happy to talk about bikes, boats and kids. She asked if I'd been on some of the Totcycle rides, because I looked "sort of familiar". After a minute, she realized that she'd seen us here on the blog. That, my friends, is the kind of fame that blogging can bring you!

Jennifer and Madi, who both looked "sort of familiar".

Spencer eventually had his fill of the boats, so we wandered off to see more sites. Along the way, he was caught by the plastic bag man. The costume was made from 500 bags, but he'd lost a few along the way. Kids just couldn't resist trying to pull them off. At least, my kid couldn't. And I did make him stop and give them back.

There was a great kids' craft table, which spawned many masterpieces. A fish doesn't need a bicycle, unless, of course, it's a bicycle powered by cocktail umbrellas.

I was delighted to run into my friend Arvia. The folks at the family bike expo talked her into taking the kids for a spin in this:

I tried it out as well. It was reasonably easy to pedal, at least on flat pavement, but quite tricky to turn. It has an extremely wide turning radius and you end up leaning over ridiculously far. It felt like I was about to fall over, but it's really quite steady. Not exactly a practical bike for most people, though.

Some bikes were made just for fun:

More crazy bike-like objects.

Oh, yeah, there was also a rally:

Mike McGinn, Mayor of Seattle

We listened for a while, but when Spencer tried to take a nap in my lap, I knew it was time to go. All in all, it was a great event on a beautiful day. The organizers did a good job of combining fun, family activities with real activism and awareness, a tricky thing to balance.

Critical Lass 7: New Southern Bike Lanes

noreply@blogger.com (Deborah) — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 20:41:00 +0000

In summary, the new bike lanes are pretty sweet...
and we're really excited that they connect up all the bits of
previously-disconnected bike infrastructure on the south side of Edmonton...
but you'd like to see some photos, right?

We first attempted this ride on the last Sunday of August,

but too few people were able to make it, so we rescheduled for yesterday.

Laura and Angel

We waited for about 25 minutes at Century Park,

L-R: Laura, Angel, Emma

then we were off.

There were shiny shoes

(mine)

and fabulous lace tutus.

Karen and Robert

We crossed the LRT tracks,

admired a cool tandem while we waited for the lights,

(sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet)

and started counterclockwise around the loop,

opting for the road instead of the under-the-power-lines multi-user path for the first bit,

and stopping only so our littlest attendee could be given more crackers.

The section of the route south of 23rd Ave has just been repaved to fix the potholes,

and is still awaiting paint.

The city has put these awesome signs up all along the loop.

Millwoods' sharrows could use signage like this, too.

Several sections, like this one, could potentially put you in the door zone of parked cars, so stay alert!

The area has a couple of big parks with playgrounds in them, several schools,

and a mix of single-family housing and apartment-style condominiums

(in addition to the big transit-oriented complex at Century Park),

and a fire station! Sadly, the brave uniformed guys had other things to do than flirt with us.

Our route circumnavigated the area of strip-mall shopping and grocery stores,

but we did see evidence of it.

It was cool to still see all the ghost marks in place that precede application of reflective paint.

The bike lane turns the corner at a three-way stop at the southern end of 106th Street, so, so did we.

We had to veer around a curb repair. We were really glad for the barriers.

Then we took the multi-user path beside 34th Ave back to 111th Street,

By this time the wind had really picked up and we wondered where the sun had gone.

So we were glad to wrap things up (for those of us who could stay)
with brunch and fancy coffees at Bistecca.

There was Italian Eggs Benedict,

and Southern French Toast,

with a side of cutie pie

Robert's always a charmer.

and lots of great conversation.

I want a wrist tattoo like Laura's.

We were so glad Judy caught up with us.

We emerged from brunch to rain and wind,

but it didn't stop us from admiring all our sweet sweet rides,
before we fled to the warmth of the LRT or our vehicles.

PS: Since our tentative date of Oct 9th is Thanksgiving weekend, we need your help rescheduling the next Critical Lass ride: please participate in our Doodle poll to see when works for the most people! We'll announce the date and create a Facebook event page within the week.

Test Rides!

noreply@blogger.com (antijen) — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 04:05:00 +0000

There are two little bike shops near my house that have been tempting me for months. I finally made time this weekend to test ride a couple of bikes. The first store is a classic LBS with a variety of bikes chained out front - road bikes, hybrids, city cruisers, kids bikes and more. The one that caught my eye, though, is the red Xtracycle. I've seen a few around the city and I know people who swear by them for transporting kids and cargo. I was especially curious to see how it compared to riding with a trail-a-bike.

I first tried it up and down the block on my own to see how it handled. My first impression - it's solid. The trail-a-bike has a slight side-to-side wobble, no matter how much you tighten the screws. I've gotten used to it, but have to admit that the Xtracycle did feel more secure. However, it is long, so you still have to allow for a much wider turning radius. Still, it didn't seem to take much to get get used to it, so I rode back to the shop and picked up my passenger.

Adding a passenger didn't change the handling much, aside from the extra weight. It still felt solid and secure. The bike isn't light, but it's not as heavy as I expected. It's heavier than Ye Olde Mountaine Byckke, but not by much, and it's considerably lighter than the Byckke plus the trail-a-bike. I didn't want to take it out too far, since it didn't have the foot rest attached, and I was worried Spencer might kick the chain. Because of that, I really can't call this a thorough review, but it did make a good first impression. I had no problem getting up the gentle hill back to the bike shop, but didn't test out any serious hills. It's hard to say whether I'd miss the extra push from the back seat or not, given the diffence in weight. However, it definitely has better "hop on and go" vs. a trail-a-bike, especially since I usually detach them and lock them together.

Spencer found the back seat comfortable. It's well padded and cushioned the bumps in the road, not that I was deliberately aiming for them. At least not many.

When asked what it was like to ride, he said "Easy!"
Me: How did it feel?
Spencer: Good!
Me: Do you like this one better or the trail-a-bike?
Spencer: This one. I don't have to pedal so my legs don't get tired!

Hmph. And here I thought he might get bored without his own pedals. Active transport my @$%......

The next stop was two doors down at an electric assist bicycle shop. This shop, which opened about 6 months ago, carries the Ohm bike, made in Vancouver. After a little chitchat and signing a waiver, I was out the door on their city commuter bike, while the store employee rode the sport version beside me.

The commuter bike is a solidy built bike, that feels quite upright and cushioned. It's heavy - about 53 lbs - and, with the low center of gravity from the battery, it feels very stable. It handled smoothly on turns, though I didn't try any particularly aggressive moves. The electric assist controls were very intuitive and easy to use. I didn't notice much with the two lowest settings - it just seems to take off a little bit of weight. Settings 3 and 4 are pretty cool, though. At first, I slowed down, expecting the motor to pick up the slack, but I quickly ground to a halt. The motor actually multiplies the effect from each pedal stroke, so the harder you push, the harder it goes. Once I started pedaling, I could really feel it pulling the bike forward. I still had to work to get up a steep hill, but not nearly as much - I was able to keep up a conversation and go much faster. The bike was very quiet and free of vibrations.

Although I'm not looking for an electric assist bike right now, I can see the appeal - it would makes Seattle hills much more manageable. If I had to tow kids daily or if I developed a health issue that made a regular bike too much effort, it would be a great option. Or, of course, if I ever move to Phinney Ridge. The downside is the price - at $2800 US, it's a pretty expensive bike. I've never tried another electric assist bike, so I can't say how it compares to others. It did rides well, though, and was a lot of fun.

This was my "test ride a different kind of bike than you normally ride" entry for the LGRAB Summer Games.

Musical Bells

noreply@blogger.com (antijen) — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 04:51:00 +0000

On our way home from last week's group ride, Spencer started to complain about his handlebars. I stopped to investigate and, sure enough, they were a little loose. "Well," I told him, "I don't have any tools with me. We're close to home, so just hold them carefully and I'll fix it when we get there." That worked for less than a block before he started to shout again. I told him to hold them up and that I would ride very slowly and gently.

When we finally got home, I was shocked at how loose the handlebars had become. It was particularly embarrassing, since I had just been leading a bicycle advocacy group ride. Thank goodness the problem didn't develop until we were on our own and almost home! I was also very surprised; I'm pretty good at remembering to check that the connection to my bike is secure and that the pedals are screwed in tight, but I'd never had a problem with this connection before. However, if you look at the photo below, it was so loose that the handle bars could spin right around and slide from side to side.

Fortunately, a quick twist with a hex wrench tightened everything up. I may need to start carrying a bike-combo tool with me.That was finished quickly, so I decided to do the other job that I'd been meaning to get around to - musical bells! Spencer has now outgrown his 16" wheeler, so we decided to move the bell to the trail-a-bike.

Ta da! Secure handlebars and a bell that lights up!
Next, I re-installed a Bell bell on Ye Olde Mountaine Byckke. I had tried to put the bell on my road bike, but it never fit well on the handlebars, so back it goes.
Finally, a shiny new bell was installed on Spencer's new 20" wheeler.Because a boy this proud of his new bike deserves a shiny new bell to go with it!

This is my "perform a maintenance task on your bike" entry for the LGRAB 2011 Summer Games.

Ballard Greenways

noreply@blogger.com (antijen) — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 02:55:00 +0000

If you've talked to me in person in the last few months, you've probably heard me talking about Neighborhood Greenways*. To crib from a previous post "These are quiet streets that give priority to cyclists and pedestrians, while still allowing motorized traffic at lower speeds. They're for people who don't want to ride on the busy arterial streets, but still need to go somewhere".

A group of folks in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle have been meeting to discuss Greenways, why we think they would be great for Ballard and how to organize to bring it about. We now have a name - Ballard Greenways** - and a facebook page.

Last Sunday, I organized a group ride to tour some of our proposed routes and to start promoting the idea to the community. We timed it to finish at the Summer Field Day, a kids' event featuring outdoor games and races at a local park. A couple of neighbourhood blogs were good enough to post about the ride (Thanks MyBallard and Totcycle!), which brought us a few new folks. There was a steady drizzle all morning and I was concerned that I might have to cancel. However, the rain stopped midday, so the ride was on.

Chatting about the route as we wait for everyone to arrive.

This was the first time that I had brought Spencer for a group ride. He was very interested in this little girl in her trailer.

Spencer found it hard to resist touching everyone else's bikes. Resist? Who am I kidding? He didn't even try. Clearly, this will take more discussion and coaching before I try it again. However, once we got on our bikes and got rolling, he did great.

I'm afraid I don't have any photos from the ride itself. Leading the ride, watching Spencer, and talking about routes took all of my attention. Next time, I'll have to pass the camera on to someone with a free hand. However, it went really well. There were good discussions about the advantages and disadvantages of different routes. We were treated to a little local history about an old theatre and the old bus and streetcar routes.

I know we'll have to be patient and that this will take a lot of work. The group rides and discussions over a beer are pure fun, but the serious organizing is just beginning. Still, I'm really excited to see how many people are enthusiastic about bringing better and safer infrastructure to our neighbourhood.

*After 10 years in the US, my writing is a random mixture of Canadian and American spellings.

**Cause we're creative like that.

This is my group ride entry for the LGRAB Summer Games 2011.

Proofide and Upgrades for Eliza and Bert

noreply@blogger.com (Deborah) — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 03:05:00 +0000

Eliza Doolittle (the rod-brake '78 Raleigh DL-1 that used to be Fiona's) came to me with a Brooks B-66 saddle. Then I scored a ridiculous deal on a vintage B-66-S on eBay, which I installed on Eliza, and Bert inherited the B-66. So we now have two vintage Brooks saddles, one of them almost as old as I am, that are a bit dry and stiff, but seem to be in great shape (little surface cracking), despite their age and unknown maintenance history. I thought it would be best if I gave them some love.

Eliza's new-to-her vintage B-66-S before treatment.

The 1978 B-66 that's now on Bert. Poor thing probably hasn't seen Proofide since the factory.

I know there's a perennial discussion going about alternatives to using Brooks' Proofide product to condition and waterproof saddles. Everyone from Sheldon Brown to the guys at BikeForums.net have weighed in at some point on it. The neetsfoot oil used to soften baseball gloves is often suggested instead, particularly for reconditioning older leather that has dried out, but some think it can make the leather too soft and ruin the saddle. My feeling was, in this case, using something other than the saddle goop recommended by the original manufacturer might be false economy, so why overthink it, especially when I can easily buy it at my favourite LBS for less than twenty bucks? (However, vegetarians take note: if you've decided to use an existing leather saddle, you'll want to research the alternative products that are available, since one of the main ingredients of Proofide is, um, beef tallow.)

This is how much Proofide I was told I should use.

Like the old Brylcreem ad says, a little dab will do ya...

...unless your saddle is as ancient and neglected as mine were. Here is the B66S gooped up with about four times that amount, spread in a super thin layer all over. Immediately after spreading the goo (it feels just like hair wax, too) and taking this photo, I wiped off the excess with my rag.

Here's what it looked like immediately after I wiped the excess off (still a bit shiny). If you look at the cloth on the rack, the slightly discoloured part was used to wipe. After taking this photo I went in with a corner of the rag to get the little globs on the edges of the holes. At the advice of the guys from redbike, I only did the top, not the underside (apparently the underside is only needed if you don't have fenders.).

And here is Bert's B66 gooped up with six times that fingertip amount - it was thirsty! After taking this photo, I wiped the excess off, then redid the driest bits with another two fingertips' worth.

This is how much was used out of a 40 gram tin - the smaller 25 gram tin would have done me just fine. I think 40 grams might be a lifetime supply, if the stuff doesn't go rancid.

Here is Bert's saddle when I was all done.

Here's a detail of one of the driest parts of the saddle after treatment - you can see that the surface of the leather had started to crack and flake a bit, and it's rough enough that it was pulling tiny threads from my wiping rag - but feeling much smoother and looking better now.

The nose of the saddle was the other especially dry bit that got a second application of Proofide. I also noticed that the saddle looks like it may need retensioning, so I'll get the guys at redbike to do that for me soon.

The chain on Bert was looking pretty cruddy and a bit rusty in spots, so I decided to apply some lube next. One generous drop per link, on the little roller in the middle (whatever it's called), then wiping off the excess with an absorbent cloth.

The oil I used, bought at MEC, feels like veggie oil, because it pretty much is veggie oil. Since its purchase I've learnt that this stuff gets brutally sticky in our climate, and catches all kinds of road gunge, in addition to being best for the warmest temps - but since I'll only be riding Bert with the trailer bike attached on the neighborhood sidewalks with my kids during the good weather, I might as well use it up.

The chain looked much better, and the rag looked much worse, when I was finished, and my hands were nicely moisturized from the veggie oil. ...I guess the next job will be to clean all Bert's little rust spots and carefully apply some wax or clearcoat.

Lookin' pretty good, Bert.

Since I last griped about Bert, the correct Shimano shifter has been found and installed, the rear wheel has been pulled back so the chain isn't too loose, and the Wald rack and a Crane bell have been installed, with the expert help of both Coreen and Keith at EBC. I'm still figuring out the little chainguard rub and trying to decide if the handling only feels squirrelly when the trailer bike is on it or if the headset needs attention or what. But all in all I feel pretty good that I've at least been in the room watching and taking mental notes and that I've gotten my hands good and dirty getting Bert to the point where he's useable, even if my husband never ends up riding the darn thing.

Eliza just came home this afternoon from a holiday at redbike with her new Steco rack with integrated kickstand (ordered online through the legendary David Hembrow's Dutch Bike Bits, because redbike couldn't special order it through their suppliers), and the same kind of rear light that Pashleys have installed. They also tightened the tension bolt in the vintage Brooks B66S for me because they noticed the leather was practically touching the rails. Thanks guys!!

I also upgraded Eliza with my vintage chromed Miller bell, which used to be on Mary Poppins. (The little bell that came with Eliza got inherited by Audrey's balance bike.)

A clear plastic shower cap will make a handy rain cover for the saddle until I can get something cuter.

Next I needed to install my antique quarter-sawn oak egg crate, to complete Eliza's transformation into Super Grocery Bike. I carefully lined everything up so the crate is centred and the screws for the homemade clamp have lots of clearance. The back edge of the crate is just off the rack to give me the most possible butt clearance for riding comfort.

View of my home-made clamp from the top.

I tightened up the thumbscrews and voila! This is super sturdy and ready to carry a fairly heavy load.

The egg crate is now solidly clamped onto the rear rack.

Eliza is looking so useful and beautiful and timeless!

About a half hour after Proofide application, the saddle is looking much less shiny.

I'll still wait overnight before I take it for a spin.

As a finishing touch, I added fabric flowers to her front basket (I had these on the egg crate last year).

Eliza's ready for her first grocery run!

PS: This post is part of our series for the LGRAB 2011 Summer Games! This is a "perform a maintenance task on your bike" post.

Book Review: It's All About The Bike

noreply@blogger.com (Deborah) — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 07:09:00 +0000

If you're entranced by the stories behind bicycle components or the history of bicycles, have I got a book to recommend to you:

I've just finished reading the Kindle edition of Robert Penn's "It's All About The Bike", in which he had a bespoke bicycle made and traveled to each of the factories and workshops where the components were manufactured. I'll admit, I skim-read some of the parts about parts, and the bits about bicycle races were not for me - but the anecdotes describing the history of bicycle design kept me coming back for more. The lyrical passage in which he describes watching a legendary master at work lacing and truing a bicycle wheel is worth the price of admission all by itself:

"I've seen skilful bike mechanics work their magic and I had anticipated the visual pleasure. I hadn't expected the wheel-building process to be an aural feats too. The metallic brush of the spokes being gathered in hand, the ting of a spoke as the elbow dropped into the flange, the scuffle of the nipples moving on the workbench, the whirr of the wrench fastening the nipples, the swish of the loosely suspended hub flopping about. Ping, ding, tinkle, chink, clink, jangle -- as Gravy worked in silence the room was humming with the century-old melody of a bicycle wheel being made."

I definitely feel like I have a much greater appreciation for the technical side of cycling and a deeper knowledge of bicycling history as a result of reading this book. If you're a gearhead or a history buff, I think you'll enjoy it too.

I'd actually suggest reading the hard copy of this, if you can. Due to the typesetting quirks of the electronic edition, I often would find myself in the middle of a paragraph before I realized that he was directly quoting the person he was conversing with. It's incredibly annoying to have the flow of the story be interrupted by such a minor technical detail.

PS: This post is part of our series for the LGRAB 2011 Summer Games! This is a "read a book about cycling" post.

All Summer in a Day

noreply@blogger.com (antijen) — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 06:53:00 +0000

This spring and summer has been unusually cool and cloudy in Seattle. (You don't believe me? Cliff Mass has scientifically proven it!). Finally, Thursday was sunny and warm, making it a perfect day to take photos of my summer commute for the LGRAB Summer Games.

I cross Salmon Bay at the Ballard Locks. Cyclists have to dismount and walk across, but it's worth it. It's the best route across the water on the west side of Seattle. Early in the morning, it's quiet and serene.

The light industrial area of Magnolia and Interbay is better for cycling than one would expect, as the roads and bike lanes are wide, but the traffic volume is relatively low. Plus, you can see trains! On sunny summer days, the number of cyclists increases dramatically.

Down the road, I pass the place where school buses go to sleep. During the school year, they'd already be on the road. In the summer, you can see them lined up by the dozen.

Finally, I reach the waterfront. This is the prettiest part of my commute. I even take a small detour, just to spend a little more time here.

The wild roses remind me of my time in Edmonton. Their scent mixes with the salty, fishy air in a way that is strangely familiar yet different from Edmonton's background of trees and grasses. You don't have to stop to smell the roses, but it's probably a good idea if you want to take a picture of them.

On a clear day, Mt. Ranier appears to float above the horizon. We'll need to have a lot more sunny days before I can take that view for granted.

By the time I am on my way home, the city has woken up and is outside playing. The Locks aren't so serene now - cyclists and tourists continually thread past each other on the narrow walk way. I've said "excuse me" to people from many countries, given directions to the fish ladder, and explained that "yes, cyclist ARE allowed here. It's actually an important route". Being patient doesn't take much work - after all, we all want to be outside a little longer when the weather's so nice.

And that is my summer commute at its best!

A Deelite-ful Balance Bike

noreply@blogger.com (Deborah) — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 00:45:00 +0000

Remember the adorable little mid-70s banana-seat Deelite that was going to take so much work to make roadworthy? A couple of Sundays ago, we took it in to EBC and turned it into a balance bike, with Coreen's supervision. The genius of this plan is that it means no need to repack the bottom bracket or fix the coaster hub - and that it will help Audrey with her rocky transition from 16 inch wheels with training wheels attached to 20 inch wheels and no training wheels. Once she's done we'll give the banana seat a makeover to make it less girly, and it will become Dom's.

As found.

Much to my surprise none of the nuts that had to be removed from the cotter pins, chain adjusters, or axles were seized. We used a cotter pin press to remove the pins without incident, pulled the pedal cranks off, then broke the chain. Here's what I saw when I pulled out the axle:

Coreen: "Wow, that bottom bracket looks even worse than Poplar's!" I doubt that somehow, but it is pretty dessicated, and when I smushed the rusty granular goop together in my hand it was the consistency of that sticky putty you use when you install a toilet. That is not how grease should feel.

After cleaning the bottom bracket out, I smeared a little Phil Woods goop in there to help keep it from rusting, then put the cups back in place. Those two holes you see above mean a pin spanner is required for the job of screwing and unscrewing the cup from the threaded bottom bracket, in addition to the bottom bracket wrench with three prongs for the outer ring. Yeah, I had never heard of a pin spanner before either.

All done for the day. As you can see we also removed that rattly front fender, which involved taking the front wheel off entirely.

Best helper ever.

Leftover parts, minus a few ball bearings.

Yesterday I finished the job by changing both inner tubes, since neither of the old ones were holding any air, inspecting the rear tire that supposedly needed replacement (looks okay now that it won't be a braking surface), and resecuring the no-longer-needed chain adjusters. I'll have to get Coreen or Keith to take a look at the front forks, since I had to be really careful in placing the wheel back in there to find a position where it didn't rub as it turned - I think something must be bent to be causing that - but it's working okay for now and will fulfill its' immediate purpose.

And here it is in use! We fancied it up a little with a plastic front basket and some NOS Milton plastic streamers I found on eBay. Audrey is doing great on it - she says it feels really weird to be not pedalling - and in a few short days I think she'll have enough confidence to graduate to her big-girl bike. She's already working on building up a little speed and seeing how far she can coast without putting her feet down.

PS: Oh look, our heroes at Chicargobike have already posted a summary of balance bike history and make-it-yourself instructions.

Critical Lass 6: North To Alberta Avenue

noreply@blogger.com (Deborah) — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 03:49:00 +0000

We had a gorgeous sunny summer day for our Critical Lass ride yesterday. Angel and I met at Bicycle Bottleneck and rode to our our meeting place. Along the way we rode briefly with Coreen, who took a different route so she could go to the bank, and met a new friend (hi Anon!). We took the bike path north to 103rd Avenue, then took that to Churchill Square, and found our meeting place in front of the Winspear:

Our new friend, who has asked that we not use her name. She's the coolest, and so her is fab mid-70s Twenty.

As you can see, the Square was packed for Taste of Edmonton! Poor Coreen wasn't sure where we were meeting, and wasn't able to find us in the crowd. We hope nobody else had the same trouble. =(

We all coveted Marilyn's fantastic skirt from H&M.

We waited an extra 35 minutes to make sure nobody else was coming, then started on our route:

down 102 (Harbin) Avenue through South Chinatown,

along Jasper Avenue, where we admired the river valley views at the top of Dawson Park (which you need to enter from the bottom of the valley, so we'll explore it another day),

then along the multiuse-trail that runs parallel to the LRT line,

to the end of Alberta Avenue closest to Coliseum LRT Station, which is the most recent section to have infrastructure upgrades. The site of the old Cromdale Hotel (above) gives a good idea what much of the street looked like a decade ago, when it was best known for its drug-fuelled crime rate. We walked a couple of blocks on the brand-new sidewalks, crowded with people walking in the opposite direction toward Capital Ex, and watched pickup trucks and SUVs whizz past, then decided our best course was to ride on quiet, residential 119th Ave, using the church and community league park as our landmarks to come out onto the sidewalks on 118th. In retrospect maybe we should have taken photos of the parks, too - they both had playgrounds full of families, nice green spaces, and at one of them there was a fenced space with a community garden and dogs playing off-leash. So cool.

Most of the shops along 118th have this sign in their window, for the community-based campaign to reclaim their neighborhood. (Oh look, this is also a self-portrait.)

Our first stop was Handy Bakery, famous for their pastries...

... and their display case didn't disappoint. They had a steady stream of clients coming in to pick up orders.

The Portuguese custard tarts? So. so. good.

They also have half the shop devoted to hard-to-find groceries and spices.

I wonder if the traffic on 118th is always this busy, or if it gets busier during big events like Capital Ex at Northlands?

We unlocked our little bike pile from one of the brand-new racks that line the street, then headed back via 119th to our destination, where Coreen caught up with us:

It smelled amazing inside, thanks to the shisha smoke from hookahs, and meals like this:

Ethiopian food! So tasty, and extremely filling. The injera (flatbread) that you eat with tastes a bit like sourdough. Nom!

Afterward we rode south on the residential streets marked on the map in the last post, past the Mustard Seed and Hope Mission, and along 106th Avenue parallel to where the railroad tracks used to divide these neighborhoods from downtown. We made one little alteration to our planned route, cutting through Grant MacEwan College and down the future Capital Boulevard:

Yeah, the Ledge grounds. After all, it was hot and sunny. How could we resist the chance to go wading?

But first we went into the rose garden for a group photo ~~(which will be in Coreen's post)~~ and admired a bumblebee who was playing in the blossoms. There are more photos from the rose garden in Coreen's ride report!

(Thanks for the sweet photo Coreen!)

I love this photo of Coreen. She sewed her floaty wrap skirt herself.

So refreshing, and such a great way to finish the ride! Afterward we headed our separate ways, with most of us heading over the High Level Bridge to Bicycle Bottleneck.

Thanks to everyone who came out! Those of you who missed it - we'll see you August 28th!

27 July Update: I've been reflecting on the changes on Alberta Avenue. It's definitely way less scary to spend a sunny afternoon there than it was in 1994 when I first visited, on a mission with my roommate to find stuff for our student apartment at the world's sketchiest used furniture shops. I remember lots of boarded-up storefronts and pawn shops then, and not a lot of pedestrian traffic. Now we're seeing families in playgrounds, lots of restaurants, lots of people out walking. There's a farmer's market, gallery space, and a number of festivals held on Alberta Avenue now. I expect, now that the infrastructure upgrades are complete, in the next couple of years we'll see it become an incubator of cool local retail and arts space, in the same way that 124th Street and Whyte Ave have been in the past.
I also commented above that the working-class neighborhoods we rode through were divided until fairly recently from downtown by railyards; Marilyn notes in her blog post that the arena project proposed for the redevelopment of that land could make that division permanent. Go read!

PS: This post is part of our series for the LGRAB 2011 Summer Games! It could qualify in several categories - this was a new part of town and took in new-to-us bike paths - but we'll just call it a group ride. Let the games begin!

Critical Lass July plans

noreply@blogger.com (Deborah) — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 07:26:00 +0000

Reminder: Sunday July 24th will be the next Edmonton Critical Lass ride!

So you can check out A Taste of Edmonton before the ride, if you like, we'll meet at 1:30pm in front of the Winspear Centre and depart at 2pm. We'll ride via 95th Street (and Chinatown and Little Italy) to Alberta Avenue, so we can see for ourselves its' revitalization from a neighborhood that a decade ago was best known for pawn shops and drug-related crime problems, now that the infrastructure changes from the Streetscape Improvements program and storefront facade renovations are mostly completed. We'll likely make stops at The Carrot, Bedouin Beats, and Handy Bakery, and have our supper at Habesha (Ethiopian, and we hear they're vegetarian and vegan friendly!).

Originally, our plan was to ride all the way to Northlands, grab a group photo with Gretsky, then take our bikes on the LRT - but since Capital Ex is on, we expect Coliseum Station to be a bit too crowded for bikes. So, now we think we'll loop back to downtown before going our separate ways.

Any feedback on the route, ladies?

20 July UPDATED PROPOSED ROUTE: So. After discussion with Angel, I did a screencap of the bike map then highlighted our new route idea:

We'll be starting about where the blue oval marked 3 is (that's the AGA), taking the on-road bike path on 102 Ave (that's Harbin Road, just north of Canada Place, which stands where the original Chinatown was established 100 years ago) through Chinatown South to Jasper Ave, and take that along the upper edge of Dawson Park (it's not clear whether we can actually enter the park from the top - if we can we can stop and take photos here) to where it turns north and becomes 82nd Street. Where 82nd crosses the LRT tracks at 113th Ave, we can get on the MUP (red) then take the on-street path (green) north on 81st Street (past another wee park) to 118th Ave. This brings us out close enough to Northlands to hear the ruckus and smell the mini-donuts from Capital Ex, close to the eastern end of the section of Alberta Ave that's had infrastructure upgrades. Then we'll ride west on 118th, check out some places, and stop for supper. Afterward we'll take 96th Street south and pick up the on-street path (green) that skirts north of downtown to head to 109th Street, then south via the MUP (red) and across the High Level Bridge to Bicycle Bottleneck. When they reopen for the day I'll call Habesha and ask them about the timing - whether they want a group to show up for the 4pm coffee ritual, or want us to make reservations for later, will determine whether we move our start time a bit later. Our reservation is for 4pm at Habesha. Sound OK?

Bicycle Sunday

noreply@blogger.com (antijen) — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 03:48:00 +0000

On Sunday, Spencer and I set out on the trail-a-bike for a bicycle adventure. Bicycle Sunday is a program run by Seattle Parks, where Lake Washington Boulevard is closed to car traffic on summer Sundays. The weather was good and our schedule was clear, so we decided to try it out for the first time.

Technically, this is not a panda shot since we are beside our bikes, not on them.

Lake Washington Boulevard winds gently along Lake Washington with parks on one side and attractive houses on the other. It was a fun, family crowd, with trail-a-bikes, trailers, training wheels, and wobbly new-to-two-wheelers.

Friendly people from the Cascade Bicycle Club were out, selling and fitting helmets for new riders.
Neighbourhood kids had a lemonade stand. I don't know how much business they did that day, but it was certainly a hit with my kid.

Now, Spencer wants to set up his own stand, so he can earn money to buy more toys.

Spencer: I could ask people for $5 for a glass of lemonade.

Me: No one is going to pay that much for lemonade.

Spencer: Well....what if I gave them lemonade AND let them play with one of my toys?

The protected road ends at Seward Park, home to a very nice playground.
Bicycle parking was at a premium!
And, of course, we had to end the day with ice cream. Hey! I just asked you to HOLD my ice cream while I took a picture!

I'd never gone to a Bicycle Sunday before, so I was curious to see how the experience compared to riding in the neighborhood or on the nearby trails. The combination of wide roads and the complete absence of cars created a remarkably relaxed and fun atmosphere. In comparison, the Burke-Gilman trail is quite narrow and, on a busy day, requires a lot of attention, especially when passing or being passed. Spencer is just learning to ride a two-wheeler (sans training wheels) right now. Once he gets a little steadier, he'll want to move beyond the school playground, but won't really be ready for streets or even the BG Trail for some time. Bicycle Sunday will be the perfect opportunity for him to spread his wings.

All in all, it was a lot of fun and we'll certainly go again. However, it will never be an every weekend activity - I'm not a big fan of driving 12 miles in order to ride for 3. Now, if only we could convince Seattle Parks to do a similar event in north Seattle....

More Japanese Cycle Culture

noreply@blogger.com (Deborah) — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 08:31:00 +0000

Although all my coolest cycle-chic photos from Japan have already been posted, I have a few more photos to share with you - I'm especially excited about the ones of an old Bridgestone Cycle rod-brake bike that I'd forgotten all about seeing.

This sign above the sidewalk in Tokyo explains that it's a multiuse path.

Tokyo, May 21st.

A delivery trailer outside a courier company - the same one that delivered our rented cell phone to our hotel.

You can rent bicycles for use on the grounds of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo,
so chances are pretty good that this white guy rented his sweet ride.
Rain during the last part of our trip dissuaded us from returning to try this out.

At the Asakusa Kannon Temple in Tokyo.

Notice all the bicycles parked to one side of the intersection!
A lot of the famous neon signs in Shinjuku were still turned off to save electricity at this point.

Parked inside a shop in Hida-Takayama (Gifu prefecture) in the early morning after a rainy day.

The narrow streets of the Edo-period Kami-Sannomachi district before opening time.
Once the shops open, these streets are crowded with pedestrians and bicyclists,
but at this early hour (about 8am) the delivery trucks can have access. May 24th.

By the time we returned, the pretty loop-frame had been moved outside the shop doors.

A narrow alley between houses in a residential district of Hida-Takayama.

I was taking a photo of the shrine, I swear.

This lovely old-timey rod-brake bike was squirrelled away in a storage area in one of the old houses at Hida No Sato, an outdoor architectural museum of mostly Edo-period farmhouses
on the edge of Hida-Takayama.

Bridgestone-stamped plastic (celluloid?) handles with brass caps. As you can see the bars themselves are pretty rusty.

I had to reach over the bike to get this shot of the chainguard. It was definitely not set up as a display.

Even the leather saddle is Bridgestone (Tokyo) branded. I wonder what the top tube is wrapped with?

Headbadge shot. The poor thing could use a good cleaning but I bet it's still in working condition.
Bridgestone Cycle Co Ltd was started in 1949, so it's no older than that.
This headbadge is one of the ones in this photo.
Given the crazy humidity and the fires kept inside each building,
it could be that rusty and dusty without being particularly old.

Cars, electric trolleys, pedestrians, and bicycles share a busy intersection on a rainy day in Hiroshima.
Notice the two ladies riding while holding umbrellas. May 27th.

Margin of Error

noreply@blogger.com (antijen) — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 05:48:00 +0000

What makes good infrastructure? One key feature is that it is forgiving. Infrastructure that requires expert skills and an absolute focus is crappy infrastructure.

Photo courtesy of Michael Snyder via SeattleBikeBlog.

A recent example of this can be found on the Burke-Gilman Trail. This is the grandaddy of multi-user trails in Seattle. It's a major route for bicycle commuters during the week and is thronged with the kids & dogs crowd on the weekend. It's one of my favourite parts of Seattle. However, it does have its flaws, including a spot near NW 41st St. where the trail crosses railway tracks. The trail does try to indicate that cyclists should cross at a 90 degree angle, but the natural path to take is a shallow angle that places cyclists at considerable risk of catching a tire on the track and falling. To try to improve safety, a rubber mat was installed. This does prevent catching a tire, but can become very slippery itself when it's wet or frosty. Not surprisingly, this has been the site of many accidents (well covered by the Seattle Times and SeattleBikeBlog) and I'm happy to hear that SDOT is fixing it.

The response to the story has been fascinating. At some point in the comments, you'll typically see an exchange like this:

People ride too fast there! I always slow down enough and cross at a 90 degree angle and I've NEVER had a problem
Well, I'm a VERY experienced cyclist and have crossed that spot thousands of times without a problem before falling and breaking my arm!
People have to learn how to cross railway track safely. Slow down and cross at a perfect 90 degree angle!

Now, I'm all for safety, and hearing about these accidents certainly reminds me to be careful when crossing the tracks. I also recognize that the city can't find and correct every hazard out there, whether it's gravel, potholes or wet leaves. However, I think people tend to miss the point. When we build and design infrastructure, we can't assume that everyone using it will be highly skilled. We also can't assume that those who are skilled will be paying perfect attention at every moment in time. Our brains do not work this way. We all get distracted by things we see on our way, personal issues, or even thoughts of dinner. If a spot is particularly risky, you can do everything correctly (which we often don't) and still have a significant chance of falling.

If our infrastructure demands perfection, it's only a matter of time before we'll fail. Good infrastructure allows for some margin of error. We demand it in the design of our highways and cars - let's also demand it in our bicycling infrastructure.

Kirkpatrick MacMillan

noreply@blogger.com (Deborah) — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 17:51:00 +0000

Did you know who is thought to have invented the bicycle?

I hadn't looked into it until I ran across this story (see above photo) in BBC History Magazine's September 2010 issue, which unfortunately isn't online. However, the BBC have posted Kirkpatrick MacMillan's biography (with the same images used in the magazine) and a photo of the replica of his bicycle, and there's also the usual wiki pages and squidoo lenses on the guy. The best article I've seen about him is "The Devil On Wheels" by Norrie McLeish.

Lucky me, I just added this postcard to my collection via eBay:

What can I say, I'm a sucker for a story about an earth-changing innovation that doesn't make its inventor wealthy. If Kirkpatrick MacMillan had patented his idea in 1839, would it have spread as widely?

Velocino

noreply@blogger.com (Deborah) — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 22:38:00 +0000

Ever since I saw this post on Inhabitat a few months back, I've been thinking about this limited-edition Abici reproduction of a 1940s bike design originally commissioned by Mussolini:

Never mind that there's no obvious way to transport any children or cargo with such a compact vehicle (I guess you might be able to rig up panniers or a rear rack). I'm intrigued. It looks like it could be a brilliant alternative to a folder for taking on the train. But nobody seems to have reviewed the darling thing. So, has anyone tried it?

via Italian website Ciclistica
...Notice that Abici have changed the handlebar position from the originals.
There's also a photo of one of the original ones in a museum here.

Or, for my intrepid mechanic readers: do you know anyone who has tried to make a Velocino, like this guy did?

I'm just really curious about how it rides...