Cycling is Exciting

My husband and I got caught in a dust storm last night coming home from the gym on our bikes. For those of you who don't know what a dust storm looks like, here is an example:

Ok, so maybe it looked more like this:

Sometimes cycling is an adventure.

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Photos courtesy of bowers95713 and cobalt123

Used Wheels Available Now!

Is anyone in the market for a new bike? There are currently some great deals on craigslist. With a little TLC and a few things added to them, they could be fabulous!








Vintage Sears All-Sport 3 Speed: $75















Schwinn Suburban Bike: $95












Western Flyer Fairway 3 speed: $40

Take the 1W2W Challenge!

Do you currently bike to work, the gym or to do errands? Are you planning on starting once it cools down? If so, then join the 1 World 2 Wheels community*!

This is a great resource; here are some stats from the site:

- "Just 3 hours of bicycling per week can reduce your risk of heart disease and stroke by 50%."

- "The U.S. could save 462 million gallons of gasoline a year by increasing cycling from 1% to 1.5% of all trips."

- "60% of the pollution created by automobile emissions happens in the first few minutes of operation, before pollution control devices can work effectively."

Check it out!

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* Thanks to Charles for the heads up on this community!

Anchor Manufacturing Building: Vintage Schwinn's!

One of the things I love about downtown Phoenix is all of the small locally owned businesses. And coming soon, there will be more. The husband and wife team who brought us R&R Surplus are planning to open a vintage Schwinn bicycle shop in the same warehouse.

Photo courtesy of sarah-ji

Steve and Andi, we're looking forward to it!

Tonight is Night Rail! Will You Be There?

Copenhagenize (and Newsweek and msnbc) recently wrote about demotorization. In Japan, auto sales are decreasing as people are choosing bicycles and public transportation over cars.

Photo courtesy of Vitoden

But demotorizing doesn't need to be an all or none proposition. Perhaps you demotorize one day a month or one day a week. Even these small changes can save you money and increase the quality of your day.

So how about demotorizing tonight?

At 10pm tonight, your friends, neighbors and local bloggers will be meeting at Monti's and Maizies (Central and Camelback Light Rail Station) for the first ever Night Rail.

Photo courtesy of Michael Ruiz

Will you be there?

Anatomy of a CB: Pannier Rack

Today's essential city bike feature is the pannier rack (PR). PR's are essential for carrying lots of stuff which you will eventually start doing if you have one. Using one is as easy as 1, 2, 3, 4:

Step 1: Approach your PR.

Photo courtesy of mindfrieze

Step 2: Attach a "pannier" to your PR - this can be a bag made specifically for this purpose or other items adjusted for use.

Photo courtesy of pjmorse	Photo courtesy of Steven Vance	Photo courtesy of owenstache

Step 3: Put stuff in your panniers and on your PR.

Photo courtesy of Thirteen of Clubs	Photo courtesy of skvidal	Photo courtesy of owenstache

Step 4: Get you and your stuff to where you're going!

Long Live The Pedicabs!

Photo courtesy of Hector Acuna

On game nights, weekends and special events, there is one type of bicycle that is ubiquitous on the downtown Phoenix city streets: pedicabs. They were the main form of alternative "public transport" downtown before the light rail opened. And now they are feeling the effects of the big silver competitors.

I hope that light rail and pedicabs can co-exist and flourish together. What do you think?

How Often Do You Experience TP?

Is the economy making you sweat? Are you just not finding as much money to frequent brothels as you used to? In Berlin, brothels are providing discounts to patrons arriving on bicycle.

Meanwhile, in Phoenix...not only do companies not provide incentives to cyclists, but there is a penalty in the form of Transportation Prejudice (TP).

My husband ran into TP this weekend after taking advantage of the new late weekend light rail hours. Exiting the train at 2:30am, he decided he wanted a snack before going home. But thanks to TP, it took him an hour and four establishments before this simple task was completed.

Here are the three establishments that did not serve him food in the drive-through (the main restaurant being closed) because he was on his bicycle.

Photo courtesy of whoohoo120	Photo courtesy of strangely	Photo courtesy of strangely

His treatment varied from polite explanation that it was against company policy to hiding, ignoring, staring and calling the police.


He ended up getting food at Filibertos whose main restaurant was open and who were happy to have his business and his bike in their establishment.

Photo courtesy of Rail Life	Photo courtesy of Jonathan Boeke

Do you have any recommendations on cycling friendly establishments? Have you ever experienced TP?

History of Cycling in Phoenix

We started out right as a city, giving away bikes in 1901 and seeing cyclists travel from Prescott to Mayer on a bicycle with a railroad attachment in 1902. By 1989, however, the Phoenix New Times was pleading for bike lanes and safe passage over busy streets. After 108 years, are we going to finally see the the development needed to support cycle commuting?

Photo courtesy of freeparking

Let's Meet in the Middle!

I'd start walking your way
You'd start walking mine
We'd meet in the middle
'neath that old Georgia pine
We'd gain a lot of ground
'cause we'd both give a little
And there ain't no road to long
When you meet in the middle

Diamond Rio
"Meet in the Middle"

I've been thinking a lot about the topic posed by the Light Rail Blogger and the discussion that has ensued. I would like to propose a compromise:

Folding Bikes!

I know, genius, right? With folding bikes, we could fit more people and more bikes on each train with less friction between cyclists and pedestrians. Problem solved!

Now I'm not proposing that everyone get rid of their bikes and go out and buy new ones or that this is the only acceptable option. I'm just suggesting that it enter our collective consciousness and simmer there for awhile. Perhaps when it's time for a new bike, you consider a folding option as one of your choices. Or perhaps you are in the market for a new bike right now. Consider a folding bike!

There are lots of options out there but these were the prettiest ones I found (this is a cycle chic blog after all...):





Ciao!P8 bicycle from Dahon
Weight: 31.7 lbs
Folded size: 13.3" x 28.9" x 25.7"
Folding time: 15 seconds
Sold at Landis Cyclery, Bicycle Haus and REI Tempe







GlideP8 bicycle from Dahon
Weight: 34.2 lbs
Folded size: 12.9" x 31.6" x 26.9"
Folding time: 15 seconds
Sold at Landis Cyclery, Bicycle Haus and REI Tempe

What's more, these babies are not only pretty but equipped with essential town bike features: pannier rack, chainguard, kickstand, mudguards and a dynamo powered front light.

That's what I call a sweet compromise.

One of These is Not Like the Other

I went to see "Malls R Us" last night at Modified Arts, hosted by the fabulous No Festival Required. It got me thinking about the types of experiences I have on a daily basis and crystallized for me one of the reasons I love "life cycling" (as opposed to "sport cycling"). See if you can tell what it is based on the photo comparisons below.

Photo courtesy of Joe Shlabotnik	Photo courtesy of JMP Photography LLC
Photo courtesy of woodleywonderworks	Photo courtesy of Janice Sarver

Cycling is an authentic experience. Sometimes it is uncomfortable (right now, cycling involves sweating and a lot of water) but it is, in the end, satisfying. And not in the "I'm saving the earth by not producing harmful emissions" kind of way (although that is true) but in the "I waved to my neighbors and felt the breeze on my face and smelled the breakfast cooking at Matt's Big Breakfast" kind of way.

It's said that it's the little things in life that count. I'll take the breeze on my face any day.

Letter to Mayor Gordon

Photo courtesy of Jonathan Boeke

Dear Mayor Gordon,

It is with great hope that we write to you today. We are the people of downtown Phoenix. We are the faithful, the hopeful, the cycleful. And we have a special request for you:

Can you please put in more bike racks?

In case you haven't noticed, we are growing in number. The new light rail has increased our range and we are cycling, even in the heat, to the grocery store, the coffee shops, bars and restaurants, to the library, museum and ballet.

Can you do this for us? Maybe just a few for now with the promise of more to come? We know that you believe in us because you gave us light rail. Which we like. A lot.

If you do this for us, we will try really hard to ride on the correct side of the street.

Sincerely,

Your Friends in Downtown Phoenix

Bicycle Eye Candy

A bicycle is a thing of beauty. See below for some fine specimens spotted around downtown Phoenix.


Photo courtesy of Melissa Hartley
Waiting for a latte at Copper Star Coffee.


Playing hard to get at the Arizona Center.


Dreaming of Diego Rivera at the Phoenix Art Museum.


Photo courtesy of Jonathan Boeke
Chilling in front of the Lost Leaf Bar and Gallery in Roosevelt Row.

In closing, thank you to Copenhagen Cycle Chic for sending traffic our way! If you haven't checked them out, you should definitely do so. They are one of my favorite blogs!

Identity Crisis

Can you tell what these three cyclists have in common?


This gentleman was biking south on Central.


This young man was biking east on Van Buren.


This gentleman was biking west on McKinley.

There are actually three things that I noticed:

1. They are all men! I walked around for over an hour yesterday and I don't think I saw a single woman on a bicycle. I was quite surprised.

2. They are all riding on the sidewalk.

3. They are all riding on the incorrect side of the street (riding against traffic rather than riding with traffic).

The third observation is what I would like to focus on. I've been doing some reading and came upon an excellent article in the British Medical Journal (the link is to the side titled "Three Lessons for a Better Cycling Future"). One of the things they talk about is about segregation vs. non-segregation of cyclists (i.e. curbed bike lanes). They posit that "cyclists fare best when they act and are treated as drivers of vehicles".

Cyclists need to be predictable to be safe. We need to get our butts on the correct side of the street, off the sidewalk and obey traffic rules. There will always be instances where exceptions can/must be made (i.e. riding on the sidewalk when on a very busy and dangerous street - but still on the right side of the street) but if we are to move towards a culture where cycling is a true alternative to driving a car, we must follow the rules.

Bikes and trains go together like peanut butter and jelly or How to use your bike and the light rail to commute

photo courtesy of Jonathan Boeke
1. Ride to a light rail station. Wait for the train to come.


2. Chat with other cyclists.


photo courtesy of Jonathan Boeke
3. Find a place to park your bike on the train. Use hangers that are provided. Or not.


photo courtesy of Jonathan Boeke
4. Optional: Use your bike as a foot rest.

5. Enjoy the ride!

A little bit of Tempe and a little bit of Phoenix

Some cool cyclists in Tempe.


And a pedi-cab driver relaxing in Phoenix.

Under Construction

Welcome to the new Phoenix Cycle Chic blog. Content to come soon!