Traffic Mood Swings

Atlanta traffic has mood swings like a sensitive person. Rain makes everyone testy, heat makes them feel charitable. A holiday weekend gets people ready to party. Sometimes this can make for interesting traffic. By Friday afternoon, many families had left town for a Fourth of July vacation. The streets were wide open. Everyone else was happy to be leaving work and ready to start the weekend. This made for some impatient drivers, and a few raucous young men who hollered something unintelligible at me. I never felt that there was any unsafe behavior though, at least not around me. And still more bicycles keep appearing on the road. Happy Independence Day!

The [Other] Joys of Stopping with Your Bicycle

The spring cyclists are out, and I have to be a little bit critical. I stop at red lights. I have been seeing soooo many people who don't. I know that this is a very contentious topic. But I think, if we expect cars to obey traffic laws and respect our right to the road, then we should comply with traffic laws too. I passed four cyclists on my way to work this morning - and three of them were the same guy. I passed him, and then he ran the light, and then I passed him again and so on. It's no skin off my back, unless you run a light or stop sign when I have the right-of-way. Then I'll yell at you.

Nonetheless, I'm still happy to be seeing more cyclists on my route. This is the guy I only saw once...

Greased Lightning

Traffic was ridiculous on Thursday, almost gridlocked. There must have been an event at the Georgia Dome or something.

Normally I'm pretty mellow on the bicycle. I set off a radar sign the other day - I was only going 16 MPH and shortly thereafter I was passed by a guy on a mountain bike with knobby tires. Although, in my defense, he was really exerting himself. But faced with lots of cars going slower than me, the spirit of competition kicked in. I threaded my way (carefully) through at least half a mile of gridlock. It felt great to be the only one on the road capable of forward movement. Of course, pedestrians were in good shape too. And after I got through it all, my reward was car-free streets! They were all stuck behind me somewhere.

Happy Colors

As another gray day dawned, I felt the need for some bright, cheerful, highly visible wardrobe choices. Rather than my usual black and brown coats, I grabbed a lightweight white trench coat. I topped it off with purple gloves, a burgundy scarf, and hot pink hat. See me!! It didn't stop a delivery truck from trying to make a U-turn in front of me, but I can yell loudly too.

Why?

The temperature was around 20 F (-7 C) this morning when I left the house. Some people - myself included - might wonder why I would choose to cycle on a day like this.

1. It's not any more difficult than my other options. Let's see. I could have walked to the MARTA station. I would still need to dress warmly, it would take a little longer, and I would be waiting or underground for much of the trip. I could have driven to the MARTA station, or even to work. That would have involved warming up the car, dealing with traffic, hunting for parking, and possibly paying to park. It would have taken about the same amount of time. And I still would have needed to dress pretty warmly. So that's a wash.
2. It's comfortable. Since I cycle regularly, I don't have to think too hard about what to bring or wear. I added an extra wool sweater and some thicker gloves, since I was a little chilly on Monday, and was comfortable for the whole trip.
   
3. It's beautiful! There are views of the city that you can only enjoy by traveling under your own power. This is something that I can't explain to someone who hasn't experienced it... The clarity of the sky on a cold winter morning, arching over your head and reflecting in thousands of windows, is breathtaking. The rhythm of shallow orange sunlight slanting through a stone railing - brilliant. The towers of the city emerging from behind buildings as you approach the urban core... There is no way to describe it; it can only be experienced by walking or bicycling. Even the train, which has many other merits, cannot give you this.
   
4. I never regret it. No matter how unsure I feel before leaving the house or office, I am always glad to be out, flying free through the streets and perceiving the life around me.

Back to Routine

It was 17 degrees when I left for work this morning. Yep, just a few degrees warmer than Chicago and ten degrees colder than my hometown of Portland, Maine. And, after two weeks of furlough and break, I wanted my bicycle commute! I layered up with wool socks, long underwear, a thick wool sweater, and my parka, plus a double-layer wool hat, scarf, glove liners, and gloves. And pants. Of course .Sorry, I was too cold and rushed to take photos.

I warmed up quickly. However, the fingers on my left hand just would not stay warm. I think the gloves are too tight with the liners under them. Also, and more seriously, my rear brake apparently froze. I just used the front brake and had no problems. There were only a couple small patches of ice. And when I got to work, I was pleased to see that someone else in my building cycled to work, too.

My office building seems to have the highest percentage of female bicycle commuters in the entire city. Usually all four parking spaces in front are taken by women. I'll grab photos of them as I can, and if they will let me!

Errands by Bicycle

As a university researcher, I have a two week winter break. Yay! I'll be staying home and working on some major projects from home repair to crocheting. In order to prevent cabin fever I'm spreading my errands out through the week. So instead of a commute today, I had an errand run outfit.

Wool coat, stretchy A-line skirt, knit leggings, Blowfish boots, Outdoor Research insulated wool gloves (children's size - my hands are small, so I can get away with children's gloves, and socks, which are much cheaper!)

I wanted to road test some leggings. They are like thigh-high knee socks (that would be thigh socks, wouldn't it?) that hit about 5 inches above my knee. I wasn't sure if they would be warm and cute, or if they would just leave my thighs freezing and slide down annoyingly. I had some thin tights underneath. The leggings did leave a bit of my thigh exposed to the air when I was pedaling (which was not a problem today, it was in the low 50s). But they stayed nicely in place and did a good job of keeping my legs warm. Good job, leggings!

It was a beautiful Solstice day to be out and about in the distant winter sun. Merry Solstice to all!!

Bicycling to Work Part 3: The Drought is Over

I woke up to hear rain falling outside my window. It's been ages since I rode to work in the rain. We had a serious drought here for over a year, and rain was an anomaly. Then, in May, the Takara needed some repairs so I started riding my Raleigh ("Cecil"), which has chrome rims and thus does not stop in the rain. So, I avoided riding on rainy days. Pretty simple. It's easy to take the train, and there are never more than one or two rainy days per week.

But now Cecil is getting serviced (a.k.a. sitting in the living room with parts detached) and I have no excuse to avoid the rain. Except for the wet aspect of it. But as I mentioned earlier this week, I now have the Giant Orange monstrosity shaped somewhat like a rain poncho. So today was the real test.

I wore stockings and some fairly quick-drying shoes. It was only in the upper 30s so I wasn't too worried about staying warm. I did layer some matching legwarmers (yes, actual legwarmers) over it all, and that was perfect. Then I had a sweater, jacket, and the poncho.

I topped it off with a wool felt cap that sheds water. It even has a brim to keep raindrops out of my eyes. I was feeling pretty clever for about a block, until a gust of wind whipped it off of my head and into a rushing gutter. A little comic scene ensued as I chased it down the street, pushing the bike with one hand and trying to reach into the flowing water with the other. Ha ha.

I managed to recover the hat, now soaked, and stuffed it into my basket. For my head I switched to a knit hat I had brought just-in-case.

The whole situation was made more difficult by my decision to hook the poncho hand loops over my handlebars. This makes it a lot easier to shift, signal, and generally use my hands for things. But it means I am attached to the bike, at least temporarily. It also means that the front of the poncho hangs over the handlebars and covers my handlebar-mounted headlight. This would be a problem at night. But for the daylight morning commute, I felt sure that the Giant Orangeness was more effective than any headlight.

The actual commute was fine, mostly. My feet did get soaked but that's about it. I figured out that the two straps hanging down inside the poncho are intended for tying around one's waist to prevent the poncho from flapping around in the wind. Because it was very windy. Or gusty rather. In the more exposed stretches of my commute, it felt like riding through a wall of cold molasses.

Still, aside from the giant puddles in the road that soaked my feet when I had to stop in them, and the wind that slowed me to a crawl, it was the usual uneventful trip. And of course, there was the well-intentioned but insulting sympathy from one of my colleagues when I got to the office. No, I don't want a ride in your car. Thanks.

A Misty Moisty Morning

It is a rare foggy day in Atlanta, one that makes me miss living near the ocean where fog is more frequent. It is drizzling on and off, but held off for my commute. I have a high-tech rain jacket and also a giant orange poncho that hooks onto my hands and can cover all the stuff in my rear basket, too. I brought the poncho along today in case the rain picked up.

But for the commute, a vintage leather coat and wool cap was sufficient. Under the coat, I wore a medium weight sweater, cordouroy skirt, tights, and loafers. Cap, scarf, and gloves were all removed during the ride. I think the temperature was in the 40s. My hair, which was damp when I left the house, did not benefit at all from the misty air!

Glimpses

The title of this blog is "I Dream of Bicycling." I was struggling to capture many concepts in one short phrase... Urban transport cycling, the infancy of cycling in Atlanta, the isolation of being a bicycle commuter here, and finally, the spirit of Atlanta (expressed, for instance, in Dr. King's "I have a dream" speech) which will face insurmountable odds in order to promote justice, equality, and people's rights to basic things like safety, mobility, health, and opportunity.

Usually, I am a lone cyclist in an ocean of cars. I'm okay with that. I'm used to being different. If I need someone to understand me, I have my boyfriend, friends, and the lovely bloggers of the global city cycling scene. But I hope it won't be that way forever.

Me and the motorists...

I envision Atlanta as being a city where any person can travel by any mode of transportation - walking, bicycling, private car, public transportation...anything except zipline, I suppose. Right now, access to private car travel is, for many parts of the Atlanta region, the difference between 'haves' and 'have nots.' And there are many people who spend more money than they reasonably should in order to have a car - money that comes out of their household budget for food, housing, education, savings, etc.

Every now and then, I see Atlanta differently. There is a glimpse where it looks like a real multi-modal city. Cyclists are passing by in the traffic, people are walking along an ample sidewalk, businesses are open and lining the streets, friends are walking side-by-side. Sometimes I can snap a photo of the moment.

In the evening, a student walks his bicycle while talking to a friend

I dream of bicycling. I dream of transportation justice.

Bicycling to Work - Part 2 (What to Wear)

Skirt In Motion

Wear anything.

Well almost anything. Bicycling has had a subtle influence on my wardrobe. Pencil skirts are dead to me, unless they have a serious slit up the side or back. Definitely not the front. I love skirts like the red one I wore today, that is fitted at the top and then flares out. This allows it to flow in the wind while remaining modest from the mid-thigh up. It's not so long that I would need a skirt guard or anything. I do have a few skirts that are simply too revealing, but only a few.

 I wear high heels more often, now that I don't have to walk very far in them. But I seek out shoes that have rubber soles rather than slick bottoms. If they don't have grippy soles and I still want them, I just stick some adhesive non-slip pads on the bottom - you can get them at most drugstores and the shoe store.

If cycling in your everyday clothes, especially skirts and dresses, is new to you, the winter is a good time to start. You can wear stockings underneath while you find out if any of your skirts are inclined to misbehave.

Then just add your normal top, sweater, jacket, gloves, scarf, hat, etc. that you would wear to walk around. Make sure scarves aren't dangling down so far that they could get caught in your chain or wheels. I like to layer, so I can remove things as I warm up.

Outfit for Mid-40's, Overcast Commute

Hat: gift. Scarf: hand-me-down from friend. Jacket: H&M Berlin. Gloves: REI. Skirt: Goodwill. Boots: Rag-O-Rama thrift shop.

That's about it! And then it's in to work.

Bicycling to Work - Part 1

We have a pretty low rate of bicycle commuting here in Atlanta. I think it's less than 1%. And I have a really hard time understanding why. This article helps explain, a little.

Where is everybody?

For the past 3 years, I have bicycled to work 3 or 4 days out of the week. The other days, I ride the MARTA rail system, which is pretty convenient to my home and work. Occasionally, I take my bicycle on the train if I am not feeling well or if the weather is really horrible. It's nice to have that option.

My bicycle commute couldn't be easier. I get up (that's the hardest part!), put on my work clothes, put my lunch and repair kit in my basket, and roll my bicycle out the front door. It's a little over 4 miles to work.

Here in Georgia, the most unpleasant weather occurs in the summer. It rarely snows in winter, and almost always gets above freezing during the daytime. The only trick for bicycling is to layer properly, so that I can take things off (hats, scarves, jackets - don't get excited!) when I start to warm up. I tend to ride at higher speeds so I do get quite warm. In summer, it is more challenging. My best strategy is to wear a spaghetti-strap tank top, wipe off any sweat when I get to my destination, and then pull something more respectable on over it.

My handy cupholder allows me to bring a frosty iced coffee on hot days, or a warm drink when it's cold out.

Sunshine and Sipping

By the way, I am working on getting better photos. I've had to figure out how to *not* drop my camera but still have it handy for interesting shots...

Happy travels.

Looking Forward to Commuting

It's been one of those weekends where I didn't bike at all. There was too much driving, and when I wasn't in a car I was laying around the house or taking transit. After a weekend like this, I feel sluggish and lazy, and I am really looking forward to my Monday morning commute!

I realize this feeling may not make sense to people who have long car commutes on the highway.