Palm Beach Bike Tours

My Google News bicycle search grabbed a mostly favorable piece from the Fort Scott (KS) Tribune this morning. It was a collection of tidbits from the Kansas Department of Transportation and contained a “helmet saved her life” anecdote.

At the top of the story was a picture, “Adam Arnold, 14, Fort Scott demonstrates the proper use of bicycle safety equipment including the use of a helmet, elbow pads and knee pads while riding his bike Wednesday afternoon in downtown Fort Scott.”

Oh, by the way, they were riding on a sidewalk, which is more dangerous than being in the street.

Safe or silly?

Here are the comments I sent to the paper:

I wish you had posted the part of the KDOT site that says that bicycles have all the rights and responsibilities of a vehicle. (And, yes, I acknowledge that there are a lot of jerks on two wheels who don’t respect the last part of that sentence, just like there are a lot of jerks perched on four wheels.)

And, while it’s courteous to not let traffic back up behind any slow-moving vehicle, whether it’s a tractor, 18-wheeler going up a grade or a bicycle, none of those vehicles is required by law to dive for a ditch just because someone behind wants to go faster.

Here is why I wear a helmet.

Bike Helmets: Magic Foam Hats

On the other hand, magic foam hats are like parachutes: you only need one when something has gone tragically wrong - and wearing one doesn’t always mean that you won’t get hurt.

Your picture of the two kids riding with all the protective gear raises two questions:

1. Do their parents make them wear all that garb when they’re in the car, where they are much more likely to be injured?

2. Do they know that they are more likely to be involved in a crash on the sidewalk because cars coming out of driveways and at intersections aren’t looking for things moving at faster than walking speeds. (Arguably, I could have ended that sentence after “looking.”)

This isn’t an anti-car, anti-helmet rant. I’m just pointing out that bikes have a place on the road and that we all have to watch out for each other.

This month’s issue of Science News features an article on the Large Hadron Collider. The eight billion dollar collider is being used to see what the big bang looked like and to find out if Albert Einstein was actually smart.

Tour de France Above, Science Below

Science is all well and good but what caught my eye was the guy on the cover next to the accelerator; the guy riding his bicycle to get around the underground labyrinth. While the Tour of France’s peloton is cranking across the country, scientists are cranking along the 27 kilometer tunnel many meters below the surface on bikes. Good for them!

Over 100 Years and Still Recognizable

While science today would be unrecognizable today to the scientists of a hundred years ago, the bicycle is still basically unchanged.

The bicycle was invented in the mid- to late-1800s. While materials have changed substantially over the years, the basic bike concept has changed little. Johan Smith from 1885 could ride a bike from 2008 without any additional instruction. The same couldn’t be said about Johanna Smith being able to turn on a modern day kitchen stove.

Your Mechanical Challenge

Here is your challenge: come up with a common household machine that was invented prior to 1890, is still used today and whose current incarnation could be used by someone from 1890 without additional training.

—Matt

Here is something I never thought I’d say: Did you see Sally Forth today? She’s planning on escaping her mother by bicycle.

Sally Forth has a bike and you should, too.

In the land of $4.25 a gallon gas, a friend of mine just bought the largest SUV he could find in advance of hurricane season. If worse came to worse, he could load the wife, two kids and their collection of 18th century Mexican art into the vehicle and escape. He’s new to Florida so I can understand why he might think that was a viable plan. (In his defense, since no one wants a Nissan Armada and its 12 miles per gallon around town, he got a good deal.)

How to Escape in an Emergency: My Bike

Me, I’m going to ride my bike to safety.

I was born, raised and live in South Florida. I survived the nasty hurricane seasons of 2004 and 2005 and have the t-shirt to prove it. I watched the evacuations of New York after the eleventh and New Orleans during and after Katrina.

Here is what I have learned: when all hell is breaking loose, a car isn’t going to do you any good. During evaculations, the roads are packed and moving 15 miles an hour. Cars run out of gas. Cars break down. Tempers flare. The roads move slowly.

After the 2004 hurricanes, 100-year-old oak trees in Orlando were down and even the most beefy Hummer could not get around town. Yet, you could get just about anywhere by bike if you didn’t mind lifting the bike over a trunk every once and a while.

Can I Get Away Fast Enough on a Bike?

The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake spawned one of the largest tsunami’s known to man. Over 225,000 people died as a result of the wave and its after effects. The furthest inland the wave traveled was 1.24 miles.

Hurricane Andrew was the second most destructive hurricane in history and one of only three Category 5 hurricanes to hit the United States in the last hundred or so years. It did $44.9 billion dollars worth of damage. Less than 20 miles inland, damage was minimal. At 50 miles away, you’d never even know there had been a storm.

Even Katrina’s devistation, too, is limited to 20 or 30 miles inland for both Mississippi and New Orleans.

September 11? Just five miles would have gotten you out of the dust. And, without subways or cars, a bike would have gotten you away or home hours sooner than walking.

An out of shape person can do ten miles an hour on a bike. Someone who is in average shape, has ridden a bike anytime in the last six months and is fleeing for his life can be 15 to 20 miles away in an hour.

Fleeing for my life with a hundred thousand other people, I’ll take a bicycle over a car every time.

Gasoline or Diesel Anyone?

After the hurricanes, it was my job to stand in line for hours to get diesel fuel for the office generator. We burned about ten gallons each 12-hour work day. In order to get those ten gallons, I often had to drive to several gas stations to see if they were open and had fuel available and then stand in line for two to three hours before I could buy my day’s allotment.

To avoid hoarding, no station would sell you more than 20 gallons. Many wouldn’t sell you more than 15 gallons. That means that every day or so, I had to search for fuel. We were based in a low-rent area of town and it took two weeks for the power to be restored to our building.

Even if you have a spiffy SUV with four-wheel-drive and a six-inch suspension lift, you may not have fuel. When I ride by on my bike, I will snicker to myself.

But What About My Stuff?

You’re right. I don’t have enough room on my bike or in the bike trailer for a nice collection of 18th century Mexican art. For that, I’d need an SUV or minivan.

Still, nothing I have is worth dying for. Quite frankly, I’d probably be better off if half my stuff was gone anyway. Chances are, it’ll be there when I get back. If it isn’t, I’ll get new stuff. Or, better yet, I won’t.

All I need is a bike each for me and the wife and the kid in his bike trailer and we’ll be out of town before you’re out of the gas station line.

So, while you’re thinking about the next disaster to hit your home town, give a little thought about how you’re going to get out of town. Even if you decide to take the car, you may want to strap the bikes on the back in case you need to get home again.

—Matt

I have my Google News set up to search for bicycle stories. It usually turns out to be a depressing list of stories about people who have been run over, mugged or police reports about stolen bikes.

There was a pretty even-handed story in the Kalamazoo Gazette this morning about clashes between the increasing number of cyclists on the road and motorists who don’t understand that riders have the right to be on the road.

Unfortunately, it sounds like Kalamazoo has the normal percentage of jerks and clueless riders who swarm all over the road and break every law in the book (I’m talking about bikers, not the 100% law-abiding motorists who would NEVER speed, coast through a stop sign, blow a red light, drive while impaired or text on a cell phone while changing CDs.)

Mr. Thornton sounds like a bad driver

Donald Thornton doesn’t think it’s a good idea to take the lane. “Not everybody can react immediately if they drive around a curve and there’s a bunch of (bicyclists) right there in front of them,” said Thornton, who lives on Van Buren County Road 358 in the Lawton area.

I responded with the following comment:

Motorist Donald Thornton says he can’t react immediately if he drives around a curve and finds a group of cyclists in front of him.

How about a slow-moving tractor? Or a broken-down 18-wheeler? Or a small child crossing the road? Or a garbage can that’s been blown into the road? Or a rescue rig working an accident? Or a fire truck?

Sounds like Mr. Thornton’s comment tells a lot about his abilities as a driver.

He’s not alone in his thinking, unfortunately.

http://www.palmbeachbiketours.com/2008/06/17/bumper-stickers-and-road-rage/

Be friendly to the bikers you pass. If gas prices go up much higher, you may be one yourself. And, you’ll find that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

A telemarketing company (from 802-878-3477) keeps calling to tell me my vehicle is about to be out of its warranty period: eight times in three weeks. Every time their machine calls me, I press ‘2′ to be deleted from their call list.

Today, I decided to speak with them. The entire call took nearly eight minutes.

Vehicle Make and Model? Trek 7300

Dave asked for vehicle’s make and model: Trek 7300. Dave asked for the model year: 1998. Dave couldn’t find ‘Trek’ in his database. I told him it was a bike. He asked how much it weighed. I wasn’t sure but guessed ‘28; maybe even 32 when fully-loaded’. He asked if it was heavy. I explained that it was twice as heavy as I’d like — a serious rider would like a bike that weighs half that amount.

Dave was very confused. Dave asked me to describe my bike. I told him it was a hybrid bike — tires of a road bike, straight bars and thick frame like a mountain bike — with 27 gear combinations, about its generator hub for lighting and the sweet, melodic bell.

How Big is My Motor?

Dave wanted to know if it had a motor. Yes: the Trek’s motor can do 100 watts for several hours at one time but could push two or three times that for short bursts. I’m looking forward to tuning up the motor this summer before I ride the MS 150 in Memphis.

Dave asked if I was talking about a bicycle. Yes, of course, what did you think I was talking about? He didn’t know.

He was simply calling because my vehicle had a warranty that was soon to expire or had already expired.

My Trek Has a Lifetime Warranty

I explained that my vehicle only had a lifetime frame warranty but that the components were no longer covered. I asked him what it would cost to add a warranty to my Trek 7300. He asked how much the bike cost and how many miles it had on it. My answers: $550 or so and, pitifully, fewer than 10,000 miles.

Dave explained that his company only sells extended warrantees for cars and light trucks used for non-commercial purposes.

Worse Than Road Rash and Harder to Get Rid Of

[Read more →]

There’s a thread in one of my favorite comic strips, Yehuda Moon and the Kickstand Cyclery, about bicycle helmets. Check out the comments. I was hooked the first time I logged in.

I normally stay out of the helmet wars. I confess to being irked when the first question / statement folks make when they hear I’m a biker is, “You wear a helmet, right?”

I reply that the more appropriate questions would be, “Do you ride like a vehicle, obeying all of the appropriate traffic laws? Do you ride WITH traffic, not against it? Do you have plenty of lights and reflectors so you’re visible? Do you take the lane when necessary? Do you signal? Are you always aware of your surroundings?”

Helmets: parachutes for your head

That magic foam hat is just like a parachute: it’s only needed if things go horribly wrong. And, just wearing one doesn’t mean it’ll save your life.

Now, having said that, I’m going to tell you why I never get on my bike without a helmet these days. Here’s a message I wrote to the phreds on January 7, 2007, explaining why. It’s a long story and it doesn’t have a happy ending.

A place for my mirror

For the record, I wear a helmet on the road. I don’t think it has magical properties, but it’s a good place to mount my rearview mirror and it takes care of the scenario where some pond-scum lawyer says,
“Yes, my client DID squash your client like a possum with his Hummer, but YOUR client wasn’t wearing his helmet.”

My riding partner, Mary, and I took off for a jaunt on the Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, one of our favorite riding spots. Holidays, rain, etc., had kept her off the bike since our impromptu century in November, so she was ready to hit it.

It was a perfect day

It was a perfect day, clear, about 82 degrees with a 4-6 mph cross headwind. She was in the groove, but for some reason, I couldn’t get the right rhythm going and she left me in the dust. At our normal seven-mile rest stop, she was a quarter-mile ahead of me.

Figuring I might just need to top off the tank, I popped an energy gel and split an energy bar with Mary. We called my brother in Missouri to rub in our great day, then hit the road.

The gel helped, but Mary still took the lead by a good tenth of a mile. The bill of my cap was pulled down and I was looking down slightly, so I didn’t see her until I was about 100 feet from her. Oh, great, I thought, she’s rubbing in that I’m so slow. She’s stretched across the trail pretending to take a nap until I can catch up.

Nobody gets road rash for a joke

That’s when I noticed that her bike wasn’t on its kickstand and that the rear wheel was still spinning. When I got even closer, I saw that this wasn’t a joke. Nobody goes to all the trouble of getting road rash for a joke.

I was still expecting her to sit up, embarrassed at taking a header on a clear, straight path.

She didn’t move.

[Read more →]

Several years ago I discovered that Florida’s Department of Transportation was making highway and traffic studies available on DVD for free. I gave them a call and talked with a guy who seemed really pleased that anyone was interested in their work, particularly to find good places to cycle.

Every June since then, like clockwork, a new and improved set of DVDs arrives. I usually spend a couple of hours poking around and still never discover all the cool things that are on them.

Green means low traffic

This screen shot is an example. The green roads in the map at right have an annual average traffic count of less than 15,000 vehicles per day.

Now, low traffic counts don’t always mean that the road is suitable for safe cycling, but it’s not a bad indicator.

You can turn on more or less detail, depending on how closely you’ve zoomed into an area and how cluttered it gets.

The map at left is showing the Tallahassee area where the 2008 TOSRV was held. I turned on place names, road markers and river and lake names.

Ever pass those black hoses stretched across the road and wonder what they were? [Read more →]

Deeds asked Ken:

Ken,
I wondered when you started riding your bike? How did you get interested in bicycling?
Deeds

Despite the fact that my kids think my original bicycle wheels were carved from stone ala Fred Flintstone, my first bike was a Schwinn when I was about 13. I’m digging around trying to find some pictures of it.

My parents bought it for me to make it easier to deliver The Southeast Missourian.

Reflectors must have kept me alive

It had a massive front basket to hold the papers, a big headlight that put out minimal light, fenders (with mudflaps) and a battery-powered horn. Interestingly enough, even though my route kept me out after dark, I don’t recall having a taillight. It DID have reflectorized tape all over it, so maybe that’s what kept me from getting run over.

In the early days, a lot of the streets I delivered to were gravel, which didn’t make it any fun going UP or DOWN the steep hills on a single-speed bike.

I can remember a couple of times when the streets were covered with snow and slush that ice built up on the fenders between the fender and tires. The more you rode, the more water that was thrown up and the more the ice built up. That wasn’t so bad as long as you were moving, because the friction of the moving tire would melt the ice. When I stopped once, though, I found out that the tire was solidly frozen into the mess. I had to leave my bike at a customer’s house and continue the route on foot. [Read more →]

One of my staffers is headed to Tallahassee to move a phone system, so I wanted to make sure he had the address of a pizza joint that was recommended by local cyclist Ed Picolo when Brother Mark, Wife Lila, Kid Adam and Kid’s Wife Carly did the TOSRV in April.

Riding builds up strong cravings. When I climb down, I usually want Dead Cow, pizza or nachos. That night, it was pizza, and I don’t mean run-of-the-mill chain pizza.

Ed told us that Paulina’s Pizzeria, 6615 Mahan Dr Ste 308-B, Tallahassee, FL 32308 was a favorite stop for local riders.

It quickly became evident why.

The menu offered so many selections that it was hard to make a choice. The waitress was friendly and put up with our (to us) good-natured bantering.

Salads fresh and attractive

It’s been a couple of months, so I don’t remember specifically what we ordered, but I do remember that it was all excellent. The salads were fresh and attractive looking and the dipping sauce for the garlic knots was good enough that I was afraid Brother Mark would start licking the plates. (We’ve pretty much broken him of that in public, but he’s been known to relapse.)

When I expressed a preference for a thin, crispier crust, the waitress said she’d talk to the boss because they’re pretty particular about how they make their pizzas. She came back and said the cook would do his best, but that he couldn’t guarantee that the dough wouldn’t tear. His good enough was good enough, because it was perfect.

Adam and Carly ordered the Crème Brulee desert. They didn’t proclaim it the best they had ever eaten, but they also didn’t leave any on the plate. They have a large selection of imported beer if you are dry as well as hungry.

If you’re on the LOST

Closer to home is Gizmo’s Pizzas & Subs, 3235 US Highway 441 SE, Okeechobee, Okeechobee, FL 34974. They’re located in Taylor Creek, on the north side of Lake Okeechobee, convenient to where you must come off the Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail (LOST) to cross Taylor Creek. [Read more →]

An Okeechobee, FL, teen lost his arm after he decided to go for a 2 A.M. swim at Nubbin’s Slough, which empties into Lake Okeechobee, reported The Palm Beach Post on June 23.

Not surprisingly, alcohol was reportedly involved.

Arm not saved

The Post quoted a sheriff’s deputy as saying that an 11-foot alligator rose from the water and bit the teen, trying to drag him down.

He fended off the attack by grabbing an orange buoy in the water, the deputy said, but the alligator bit off the boy’s left arm below the shoulder.

Rescuers captured the alligator and found the arm in its stomach but the arm was too damaged to reattach.

I’m not surprised to hear about the attack. I’ve counted as many as 25 gators in the 8-foot and longer category at Nubbin’s Slough.

Spring Breakers get lucky

The day I shot these at the Slough, a bystander said that college spring breakers had been running down and touching them.

They, obviously, had never seen a good-sized gator wheel around and grab something. Urban legend is that they can outrun a horse in a short sprint. I don’t know if that’s true, but shortly after I shot the gator at the top, he stood up on his tail in the shallow water and the top half of his body got about four feet of air.

I was very happy that I was shooting with a medium telephoto and not a wideangle lens. [Read more →]