Monday, May 23, 2011

"When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race."

The good news: more and more states are moving towards bike-friendliness.

The bad news: Texas still ranks #41. On bike to work day I had a car pull up next to me and honk for no reason except, apparently, to see if he could get me to react. A friend had a truck pass him, pull in the bike lane, and suddenly stop just to try & make him crash. A cyclist in Alice was hit Wednesday and left on the road.

Do I deny that there are cyclists who don't follow the rules as they should? Definitely not; they are, in fact, one of the main reasons I usually ride alone.

But I beg drivers to think of it this way: if I'm on a bike, it means I'm not another car on the road. It means less traffic, so you get where you're going faster--and without speeding! What safety for cyclists really means is safety for everyone.

Also: It's 2MC season again! I've kicked it off with 16 miles the first week, hoping to bike more this weekend!

Friday, May 20, 2011

It's Bike to Work Day!

There's a new crew in town, and that crew is the SpokesPeople. I have, unfortunately, missed every single one of their rides so far, but when I saw they had organized a "Bike to Work Day" event on Facebook, it was the kick in the pants I needed.

This brings the number of bike commuters at work to three, possibly four (and how cute is that white cruiser, I ask you?), which I like to joke is all of us in town (according to the official report, Corpus Christi has 0% female bike commuters).

So last night I checked my lights, trunk, and tires and went to bed early so I could make my first ride from the new house.

It was muggy as all get out, but it made me remember how nice it is not to be stuck in my little gasoline-powered bubble. No A/C, no radio, just me and the waves and the birds.

It doesn't get better than that.

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Back from the Wars!

So. I've been MIA for a while.

It's been a busy year!

I shopped for and bought a house, moved, and changed jobs all within a few short months. I've also been planning a trip to Europe with family (and of course included a bicycle tour of Barcelona!).

One of the biggest selling features of my house? The garage.

Living in an apartment led me to the purchase of my delightful, folding Dahon Cadenza. A full sized bike that can fold up and be hidden in a closet? BRILLIANT!

My next place, a townhouse, had a patio that I initially planned to keep the bike on. Unfortunately it was a very WET patio, so the bike was moved inside under the stairs--and I bought a cruiser to keep it company.

But this house has an actual garage! I can pull my car in, the lawnmower, my bikes, garbage & recycle bins. I'm in the market for a bike lift to free up a bit of floor space, but all in all things fit rather well!

While my new house is a bit further out than the old places, it's still convenient to the nearest road with bike lanes (few and far between here in Corpus), and I can easily get to the grocery, etc. It'll be even easier once they finish up all the construction surrounding the new Wal-Mart, which apparently involves ripping up every road, sidewalk, and cross walk in a three mile radius. I'll be especially pleased if they add bike lanes to the street the Wal-Mart is on, though I kind of doubt it...