Two Wheeling

Bob-Crusher Rules!

2008-07-23T19:26:35-07:00

I rode to work today with Bob (fondly know to his friends as "Bob-Crusher"), from Nationwide Children's Hospital, and with his permission featured him on this blog. Next thing I knew, my blog was being pummeled with hits.........wassup with Bob-Crusher?

I think I know what it is............and the only way you can begin to understand it, too, is to get on a bike and ride it to work or to somewhere else that matters...... where you would otherwise drive a car. It can only be described as magic. The experience is guaranteed to transport you back...........to when you were a kid and you had no other transportation option to get to the park, the swimming pool, your best friend's house, to school, the library, or baseball practice.

It's 10:30 pm on Wednesday night and I'm at the office with no other transportaion option to get home except my trusty steed.............gitty up!......it's a lovely night for twowheeling!

Meet Bob.........a recent convert to twowheeling

2008-07-23T08:55:30-07:00

I rode in today with Bob, a rookie bike commuter who lives in Hilliard and works in the IS department at Nationwide Children's Hospital. Bob began riding his bike to work this summer primarily to lose weight (Bob, told me what he weighs, but HIPAA probably precludes me from sharing that info with you)..........Bob said that his weight really helps him pick up speed on downhill grades, but otherwise is not helpful to his biking.

Bob drives his car to Antrim Lake and bikes in from there..........it's about 12 miles each way. When he began commuting, he drove and parked near the Third Avenue bridge and biked in from there, so you can see that he is gradually increasing the length of his bike commute and decreasing his auto mileage. I point this out to those of you who live in the burbs and think that there's no way that you can bike to work. You would be surprised by the number of surburban bike commuters who park and ride like Bob. This is a very good and acceptable way to bike to work...........the other option is to "move closer" (which we've discussed before).

Bob has two colleagues at Nationwide Childrens who recently started biking to work from the Hilltop area. Let's hear it for Bob and his friends who are setting a good example for all our friends at Nationwide Childrens.............next thing you know, they'll be adopting EcoBucks!

Now that I've had my 15 minutes of fame......

2008-07-14T19:46:50-07:00

Imagine my surprise last week when I opened the morning Dispatch and saw my barn on the front page. My first thought was, "Wow, it must REALLY be a slow news day." My friends and I dismantled the 1840 era hand hewn frame last year and moved it from Plain City to the Morgan family farm in Knox County outside Mt. Vernon. Some Amish friends helped reerect it in May. A Dispatch reporter and photographer chronicled this project and, I guess, thought it was newsworthy. If you missed the article, you can view the slide show (and sound track of some guy who doesn't know what the hell he's talking about) at www.dispatch.com/multimedia.

Of course, I endured some serious abuse from several of my good friends who called and emailed to "congratulate" (translation: razz) me on the article. (Typical congratulatory comment: "I didn't recognize your picture on page 1, but the photo of you on p. 4 (with beer in hand) looked more like you.")

I can't imagine the razzing that will ensue after the evening news tomorrow (Tuesday) night.

Late last week I received a call from a Channel 4 reporter. "I love your blog and I've read the articles about your biking to work........but................I'd like to cover this story from a slightly different angle."

So, at 7:30 am this morning I started pedalling to work like every other day..........except that I had a Channel 4 van, containing a reporter and a cameraman, following behind, with camera rolling. Down Marburn, south on Olentangy River Road, left on North Broadway and south on High we went. (I'd normally ride the Olentangy bikepath to work this time of year, but vans aren't permitted on the bikepath.)

We stopped in front of Baer Wheels and picked up Judge Klatt, who's now riding to work at the Franklin County Court of Appeals 3 days per week. Until today Bill has limited his cycling to the bikepath, but he was game for riding down High Street to accomodate Channel 4. The reporter interviewed the two of us ("What made you decide to start biking to work?.........I need to come up with a much wittier answer to this question) and gave us each a microphone to wear (so they could hear our scintillating conversation as we biked down High Street to work ("Watch out for that pothole!"........"Careful not to get doored!.....etc.)

They even gave Bill a helmet cam that was heavy and caused his helmet to tilt to one side, looking a bit like a French beret. I complimented him, "Very fashionable, your honor.........it's a good look for you."

It was another beautiful morning to ride and aside from the novelty of having a TV crew riding with us and filming our every move (and trying to remember to watch what we said because we were miked), it was uneventful...........oh, except for when we were stopped at a red light at Lane Avenue. As Bill pulled up next to me in the curb lane, a Columbus police cruiser pulled even with me in the center lane. "Morning officer," I said. "Good morning," came her reply. "I know the pavement in the curb lane is bad through this stretch, but you really should be riding 3 feet from the curb and not so far out into the lane." "Hmmmmm..........yes, officer," was all I could reply............another opportunity for civil disobedience squandered. I've recently reviewed the City Code as it pertains to bicycles. I think it requires bicycles to ride toward the curb side of the lane, but I don't recall seeing any 3 foot rule. Has anyone ever heard of this?

As we continued our journey down HIgh Street I didn't ride any closer to the curb, but I did pay close attention to the 3 foot section of the street in which the officer wanted us to ride...................it is generally in deplorable condition, with lots of broken pavement (probably from busses and heavy trucks stopping and starting) and glass and other debris..........in my opinion it is not safe to bike in this space. With the proposed changes to the City Code sections that relate to bicycles (introduced by Councilperson Tavares), we should keep this issue in mind.

If you're interested, the Channel 4 piece should air tomorrow at 5:30 pm with an additional link posted on the Channel 4 website. Feel free to join my buddies who can be expected to give me lots of sh.. about it.............C'MON, PILE ON!!!!

What a Beautiful Morning to Ride!

2008-07-10T10:36:07-07:00

It was an absolute treat to be able to cycle to work this morning with perfect temperature, low humidity and a crystal blue sky above. Lately I've been riding the Olentangy bikepath to Woody Hayes Drive and then bumping up to High Street to complete my route to work downtown. I have gotten SO tired of riding on the dilapidated bikepath through OSU that I just refuse to do it anymore. I've been having some pain in my wrists and riding on the broken pavement there just aggravates it (not to mention shaking the fillings in my teeth loose).

It also chaps me that over the past 30 days I've watched OSU resurface the parking lot that abutts the broken-down bikepath just south of the French Field House, hoping (but not holding my breath) that the workers would just move over and begin work on the bikepath when they finished the parking lot............but it doesn't look like that's in the cards. OSU announced LAST year that they would fix the bikepath THIS year.......yeah, yeah, we'll believe it when we see it.

The heavy rains over the past month caused the Olentangy River to flood the bikepath in several spots, leaving mud slicks in it's wake. These are serious hazards!..........Matt Richardson (who took a nasty spill on a mud slick during our Bike Week ride) took a serious spill last week and dislocated his shoulder. Although the mud is mostly dried up, it can still be treacherous when it rains.........so be careful!

The number of bike commuters seems to have increased exponentially this year, probably a result of $4 gas..........it's really amazing! Are you seeing more bikers out there, too? Please keep encouraging your companies and colleagues to adopt biking, the sensible mode of everyday transportation, even if it's just once per week......if everyone biked to work just once per week, we would change the world.

Judge Klatt Joins Our Ranks!

2008-06-17T12:22:00-07:00

Judge Bill Klatt, who sits on the Franklin County Court of Appeals, is one of my best friends.......we've played together in the Klatt Brothers Band, a local rock and roll band, for more than 10 years. Bill and his family live in Clintonville and he works downtown at the County Courthouse at Mound and High. I've told Bill for years that he's a perfect candidate for biking to work because he doesn't need a car to get around during the day (people come TO judges, not the other way around) and since he wears a black robe, he could just leave his bike clothes on underneath.......and noone would ever know.

Bill began cycling recreationally last fall and told me he intended to begin riding his bike to work twice per week in the spring. I told him I would be happy to help him map out his route and ride with him on his inaugural ride. Yesterday was the day.

Despite rupturing his Achilles tendon earlier this year and not being able to exercise, Bill is in fine shape and had no trouble making the ride downtown. He rode surprisingly fast for much of the journey and experienced the vagaries of riding to work when we got drenched by a rogue thundershower a block from the courthouse. We rode home together along the Olentangy River bikepath at the end of the day. I think Bill really enjoyed it and will continue to ride to work a couple of time per week. He says that there are 4 other folks at his office that are riding.

Bike commuting is not limited to those of us that work downtown. My good friend, Dave Potts, who lives and works in Dublin rode his bike 10 miles to work for the first time yesterday and intends to continue to ride to work when he can. Many suburban communities have extensive bikeway systems and if you live and work there you may find it to be a surprisingly bike friendly environment. Did you know that 85% of our daily automobile trips are 5 miles or less? We can, and should, substitute biking and walking for a good percentage of these trips and improve our personal, environmental and community health in the process.

Where Did All These Bikers Come From?

2008-06-12T06:43:57-07:00

I can't believe how many new bike commuters I'm seeing on the bike path this year! I think $4 gas has a lot to do with it, but I think there's something more going on here.

I met and rode in today with Paul. Paul was riding a hybrid with 2 big packs on a rack, so I assumed he was commuting. "How far you going?" I asked as I passed him. "All the way downtown," he replied. "Whoa, I need to hear about this," I told him as I slowed my pace and rode alongside him.

Turns out this is Paul's first day commuting from his home in Westerville to his job as a software developer at Nationwide...........a 44-mile round trip. Paul appeared trim and fit and looked the part of the experienced cyclist in spandex shorts, etc. "Why did you decide to do this?" I asked him. "Well, I won a bike at Nationwide a couple of years ago and began cycling for fun and exercise. With $4 gas, I began to consider commuting and just decided to give it a try. I'm aiming to do it twice a week and see how it goes." Paul is 55 years old.

"What's your family think of this?" I inquired. "My wife is amused," Paul responded. "Welcome to the club," I told him.

Our community, and our conventional notions on the proper way to "move about" our community, are changing. Every day there are citizens like Paul deciding that just because we've driven around in climate-controlled boxes for most of our lives, doesn't mean this is the best, or only way, to get around town. Pioneers like Paul are demonstrating that we can put our personal energy to productive use and not "waste" it on a treadmill or elliptical machine. This is the way (I believe the only way) we will achieve personal, environmental and community health.

The tipping point is near........c'mon and help us change the world.....two wheels at a time.

Goose Attack!

2008-05-08T20:22:52-07:00

The Canada goslings hatched this week.....hundreds of them along the Olentangy River.......cute, little balls of yellow fuzz. Mom and dad are always nearby, shepherding them on their way........and are understandably protective. Experienced cyclists know to avoid Mama and Papa Goose this time of year.

I've been hissed at dozens of times and I've seen geese put their heads down like they're ready to charge me, but today was the first time I've ever been attacked.

I was almost downtown and as I neared a 90 degree turn in the bike path, I saw a family of geese crossing the path. One of the adults had already crossed and the other adult and a half dozen goslings we getting ready to follow. As I slowed to make the turn, the adult goose nearest the path put its head down and started to hiss. Having seen this behavior many times before, I didn't think much ot it. But as I passed 3 feet in front of this hissing goose, it suddenly took off and flew right at me with its mouth open. I was shocked, but instinctively contorted my body to avoid his charge. Fortunately this was enough to cause him to miss me. The adrenaline rush enabled me to accelerate quickly so he didn't get a second chance to nip me.

I hope to have many reinforcements with me on Monday when we do our opening day ride to commemorate National Ride Your Bike to Work Week. I'll be ready for the geese if they decide to attack again.

Join Us for Opening Day '08!

2008-04-30T08:29:38-07:00

Please join us on Monday, May 12, for our 2008 opening day ride!.......this also corresponds to the first day of National Ride Your Bike to Work Week and we're having a big celebration all week, kicking off with breakfast on May 12 on the State House lawn. The Mayor will be there to announce the Bicentennial Bikeway Plan. There will be events and festivities all week.......you can check it all out at www.considerbiking.org.

There will be groups of bikers riding downtown on May 12 from different points all around the city, and we're hoping to have hundreds of cyclists at the kick-off breakfast.

Our group will meet at 6:15-6:30 at Urban Coffee next to Hill's Market near the starting point of the Olentangy bikepath. Calfee will again spring for coffee, etc. and we'll begin our ride downtown at 6:45-7:00.

If you live south of Worthington (e.g. Clintonville, University district, Victorian Village), you can either ride up to Urban Coffee to meet us, or hook up with us on the bikepath as we wind our way through your neighborhood.

I hope you can join us on May 12 for Opening Day '08!

I Do Miss White Castle

2008-04-11T05:53:39-07:00

There's not much I miss about commuting by automobile, but there is one thing..........White Castle. Back in the old days, when I drove a car to work, I'd usually swing by the White Castle drive-through at Kenny and Henderson to get a cup of coffee. I love White Castle coffee.

Today was one of the rare days that I needed to drive to work and, of course, I immediately headed for White Castle (out of roughly 240 work days in a year, I will bike to work approximately 200 days........if my friends see me on one of my rare "car days", they give me hell ). The drive-through was stacked up, so I parked and went in to get my coffee. As I walked up to the counter I could hear my favorite White Castle employee taking an order from the drive-through, "Welcome to Whhhhhite Castle, can I take your order?" "A medium black coffee, please." "That'll be 80 bucks, rock on around to the second window." Ah............it took me back.

Spring is always wonderful, especially after a long winter.........but on a bike it is TRULY GLORIOUS. As the spring bulbs emerge and the flowering trees and shrubs burst into bloom, our merry band of bikers shed their winter spandex and balakavas and don their shorts and lightweight jackets.......another sure sign of spring.

Despite the fact I drove TO work, I will be at Bill's feet at 5 for our Friday night ride home.....hope to see you there.

Friday Night Biker Gang

2008-03-04T17:10:18-08:00

Kudos to Jeff Willis who was the only intrepid biker who showed up last Friday and rode solo to Fiesta Time where Bob, Bob, Kurt, Doug, Eva and David joined him to kick off the weekend. I'm confident there is a multitude of riders biding their time.....waiting for warmer and drier weather to join the gang......but so far we've had pretty slim pickings at Bill's feet on Friday.