Winter Cycling Discussion - Thursday, November 19th

I'm all for year-round cycling, and it looks like these guys are, too.  Here is an excerpt from an email I received about an upcoming event here in Milwaukee that will help you get geared up for winter riding.  I've managed to survive my bike commute during the winter here with nothing more than some cruddy old clothes I had laying around the house, so you don't need to go spend $1,000 at REI to make it happen.  Anyway, here's the email:

The Milwaukee Bicycle Collective, Truly Spoken Cycles, The Bella Donnas, and UWM's U-Bike program have teamed up to promote the continuation of cycling in the winter with an open discussion at Transfer Pizzeria. Anyone who is interested in learning more about proper layering, lighting, and riding through snow and ice in the city is invited to attend. Veteran winter riders are also encouraged to stop by and give their advice for what works and what doesn't.

This coalition also hopes to attract a large group of winter enthusiasts to show the city that the cycling infrastructure needs to be maintained just as well as the automobile infrastructure throughout all seasons. Deep, broken seams in bike lanes and excuses like "Plows don't expect people to use the bike paths or lanes" are unacceptable.

Cycling in Milwaukee has doubled in the last two years (http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/lifestyle/60297582.html?c=y&commentSubmitted=y), well above the national average, and the accident rate has also fallen by 400% in the last four years (http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/lifestyle/62694612.html). We aim to promote safe cycling, even through the toughest months in Wisconsin, from staying warm to staying sweat-free to acheiving high visibility on particularly snowy days and dark nights.

The Winter Cycling Discussion will be held at Transfer Pizzeria at 7:00 on Thursday, November 19th. Door prizes and ap-pizza-tizers will be available as well as drink specials.

Be sure to go to this nifty website for more information.

Working Long Hours

Photo by umjanedoan

Being a lawyer can be a busy occupation sometimes.  I have fallen into a dark, bottomless pit teething with the dreaded serpents of long hours and pressing deadlines this past week, so I have unfortunately neglected this blog.  And I would have continued to neglect this blog had I not seen a glimmer of hope this morning in my war against bike thievery.  Last week, I reported on a Rocky Mountain Soul that had appeared unlocked one morning at my bike rack - a notorious hiding place for stolen bicycles.  I had assumed that it was stolen. 

This morning, that bike reappeared, again unlocked.  However, now I'm not so sure the bike is stolen.  To set the scene a little, I usually lock up my bike with both a u-lock and a cable lock while I'm at work.  Unless I have to take my bike somewhere the next morning before coming to work, I'll leave both of those heavy, cumbersome locks attached to the bike rack so I don't have to schlep them around.  That's what I did last night. 

This morning, the owner (thief?) of the Rocky Mountain Soul, who apparently can't scrape together a few dollars to buy his own lock, carefully draped my cable lock over the handlebars of his bike in order to create the impression that his bike was in fact locked to the rack.  I suppose that, viewed from afar, he indeed created that impression.  Maybe that is enough to deter thieves in Milwaukee.  I don't know.  It certainly wouldn't keep a bike from getting stolen where I'm from. 

I felt terrible when I had to yank my cable lock off of the Rocky Mountain in order to lock up my own bike this morning.  I hope it doesn't get stolen, and if it's already a stolen bike (we haven't ruled that out yet), then I hope it doesn't get stolen again.  Two wrongs don't make a right. 

Has Anyone Seen the Bridge? Where's that Confounded Bridge?

One thing I'm good at is making ill-informed accusations (except, of course, in my legal practice, where I adhere to the highest standards of professionalism).  Last week, in the haze of my excitement about the reopening of the Highland Boulevard bridge, I criticized the new and improved bridge of looking "exactly the same as it did when they closed it down last year," noting that the city workers didn't even bother to repaint the bike lane stripes.  With my tail between my legs, I return to you, my friends, with words of reparation.  You see, I was wrong.  Very wrong.  The bike lane stripes were in fact repainted:

Apparently, this bike lane is only for pastry chefs riding frameless bikes with 36-inch oval wheels.  They must have a pretty strong lobby in city hall. 

Not only that, the bridge has other new-looking features, such as this brick wall adorned with an elegant metal railing:

I really felt foolish when I saw this plaque commemorating the bridge being "built" in 2009. And I thought the bridge was just closed for repairs.  They built the whole darn thing!

One thing I was relieved to see this morning was that the classic Miller sign that sits atop the Miller brewery has not been changed to read "MillerCoors" just yet.  I'm glad to see some things stay the same.

Is This Your Bike? (Part III)

Not again!  I've posted on this blog previously about how the bike rack behind my office building has become a depository for what appear to be stolen bikes.  First there was the Schwinn, which has languished at the bike rack, unlocked, for over a year.  Then there was that cute little rascal, the Huffy, which appeared at the bike rack for less than 24 hours and then disappeared. 

This morning, I was horrified to find this Rocky Mountain Soul leaning, unlocked, on the bike rack.  What troubles me most is that this time it looks like the thief nabbed a halfway decent bike (emphasis on the "halfway").  Perhaps the thief is starting to go after higher-grade booty.  And if that's the case, chances are the thief won't be satisfied until he or she has tasted some real high-end componentry.  Who knows.  Maybe I'll show up some morning in the not-too-distant future and find one of Lance Armstrong's time-trial bikes sitting there at the bike rack.  Well, let me tell you Mr./Ms. Bike Thief, you are hereby warned that just like Lance was able to recover his stolen bike with the help of his 140,000 Twitter followers, so too this mighty blog, with its readership now numbering in the double digits (when I include people I'm related to), will help reunite this poor frightened and lost Rocky Mountain Soul with its rightful owner.

Attention Westside Commuters - The Highland Boulevard Bridge Is Finally Open!

In case you weren't aware, the Highland Boulevard bridge has been closed for over a year for repairs. Yesterday, it reopened.  Perhaps it's a testament to how dull my life has been lately, but I can't contain my excitement. 

Listen, this bridge ain't no Golden Gate.  All it does is span some railroad tracks by the the Miller Brewery and the Harley Davidson headquarters.  I don't know what they have been doing to it over the past year, but the thing looks exactly the same as it did when they closed it down last year.  I don't think they even bothered to repaint the bike lane stripes.  But like an old member of the family who resurfaces after a year in rehab, it's good to have him back, warts and all. 

This is good news for me because, over the past year, I have been forced to take a less-than-glamorous detour down a seedy section of Vliet and along a particularly franchise-laden strip of 35th Street in order to reunite with Highland's bike lane, which takes me downtown to work in the morning.  I really missed that bridge.  Before its closing, it had been one of the few bright spots on my commute to work.  I'm glad to have it back.

Photo by Eddie-S

However, not everything is a rosy as it appears.  It looks like the Miller Brewing Company has taken advantage of the bridge's closing to do something devious.  This morning, as I rode past Miller's corporate office, I noticed a new sign on the side of the building which read "MillerCoors".  Now I'm sure those of you who actually read the newspaper would say, "Hey, buddy, that's old news."  Well, let me tell you, it was a shocker.  Not that I give a hoot about Miller.  I'm originally from California, so I drink whatever beer I feel like without feeling like I'm risking some sort of breach of regional decorum.  Nor was it a shock to see those two tried-and-true brand names side by side.  I mean, they both taste like crap anyway, and, by now, we're all used to massive corporations merging together to form even more massive entities in the ongoing race towards global mediocrity. 

I think what upset me most was seeing the capital "C" in front of the sub-word "Coors".  MillerCoors.  Since when is it okay to put capital letters in the middle of words?  Sure, the Germans capitalize all their nouns.  I can live with that.  But why do Miller and Coors have to share the same word?  Are we too lazy to read two separate words?  Are they trying to save space as a result of the economic downturn?  Fifty years ago, they would have called it "The Miller and Coors Brewing Company."  What if we all went around eliminating "useless" words in our speech in an effort to corporatize our speech?  Would my wife understand me if instead of telling her "the baby is crying" I just said, "BabyCry"? 

And the other thing that detracted from my celebration of the Highland Boulevard bridge was the fact that someone (presumably, the police) put one of those big signs which tells you how fast you are going smack dab in the middle of the bike lane.  While I was delighted to learn that I was going 14 miles per hour into a strong headwind this morning, I would have preferred to have the bike lane open to protect me from cars approaching from behind that were no doubt going much faster than 14 miles per hour. 

But that's enough complaining, isn't it?  This was supposed to be a celebratory post.  Those of us who commute from Milwaukee's westside have a good reason to rejoice upon the reopening of the Highland Boulevard bridge!

Cycling to New Spiritual Heights

Photo by Diego Cupolo

I like cycling.  I ride my bike to work for no particular reason other than the fact that I like it.  I'm not a particularly philosophical or political guy.  I'm just trying to have a little fun, that's all. 

My bike commuting addiction is not rooted in any profound commitment to environmentalism.  Sure, getting to work without using a car provides a tangible benefit to the environment by reducing the amount of pollution in the air.  There's no denying that.  But I don't do it to be "green".  That's not what compels me to get out the door on a single-digit February morning.  I'm not one of those "simple living" guys either.  I am generally angst-ridden and prone to extended binges of overthinking.  I can even render the supposedly "simple" act of riding a bike into an overly-complicated exercise in grandeur (witness this blog, for instance). 

My bike commuting is not an attempt to get in touch with my spiritual side either.  I don't debate that a long ride in the country, wherein one has time to take leisurely breaks under the sheltering reaches of old trees, can bring a person to Whitmanesque visions concerning the presence of divine energy in nature or whatever.  I don't usually have time in my schedule for such uplifting jaunts.  More often, I find myself in situations as I did yesterday afternoon, cussing at traffic in the midst of a soaking rush hour rain.  Not so spiritual.

My intentions aren't lofty.  In truth, my motivation for bike commuting is to have some fun, to feel like I did when I was a kid, before life got so darn complicated.  Although I'm too impossibly complicated to ever truly feel like a kid again, bike commuting does permit me let my hair down a little.  I wouldn't be able to sit behind a desk all day playing the role of Mr. Serious Attorney without it.  It also helps preserve my sense of humor, something which we all need more of these days.  Don't forget that during the last global economic depression, we had entertainers like the Marx Brothers to keep us laughing.  I don't know if you've noticed, but movies aren't so funny anymore.  Maybe it's up to us to make ourselves laugh a little. Riding a bike can be funny, if you let it be.

One guy who really has the right idea is co-religionist Baruch Herzfeld.  He runs a bike gemach (loan program) in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, beloved home of Satmar Hasidim and hipsters, two subcultures who both happen to take themselves way too seriously.  Herzfeld, an Orthodox Jew himself (although not Hasidic), tries to help Williamsburg's Hasidim lighten up a little bit by loaning them bikes.  The sign over his small storefront in Brooklyn features a "large Star of David constructed out of 50 or so rubber chickens," the center of which contains Yiddish text stating, "You can come borrow a bike to ride around and have fun."  Says Herzfeld:

“These guys always complain to me. They say: ‘Baruch, what can I do? I’m miserable. Help me out. . . . I said, come to me. I’ll give you a bicycle on the side.”

So far, it appears that Herzfeld has been successful in getting some Hasidim out on bikes.  I'd like to extend my best wishes for Herzfeld's continued success in putting a little levity into people's lives.  If you think Baruch Herzfeld is a swell guy, as I do, be sure to vote for him to receive the Jewish Community Hero Award by going here.

I think we can all benefit from a little more fun in our lives, and riding a bike is a pretty good way to do that.  Just remember, and I'm speaking to myself here (actually, I don't think anyone reads this blog anyway, so I guess I'm always speaking to myself), not to take cycling too seriously because that would defeat the whole purpose.  It's hard not to notice that riding around on expensive fixed gear track bikes has done little to help hipsters from taking themselves and their bikes too seriously.  Instead, just get out and have a little fun.  And if you don't wind up having fun, then at least try to laugh about the fact that you didn't have fun.  And if you can't laugh about the fact that you didn't have fun, at least try to laugh about the fact that you couldn't laugh about the fact that you didn't have fun.  If you can't do that, well, I guess there's no hope for you.  Maybe try the environmentalism thing. 

Here's That Rainy Day

Ok.  I'll admit that this morning's conditions riding into work were less than ideal.  Even though I like to promote bike commuting in both of Milwaukee's seasons (two weeks of summer and fifty weeks of winter), I openly acknowledge that I did not enjoy my commute today.  And I think I'm among friends when I say this, and, as a result, I don't feel that my self-worth is threatened in any way.  Thanks for being a friend. 

Huffy Update!

I'm pleased, or perhaps disturbed, to report that the pint-sized Huffy that appeared one morning at the bike rack behind my office is now gone.  Again, I'm concerned that the growing readership of my blog among bike thieves and other villains is on the rise and that the Huffy thief quickly reclaimed his or her stolen goods once they checked my blog and realized that I had revealed their secret hiding place to the rest of the world.  I'm sorry.  At least there's more room on the bike rack now. 

Sidewalk Riding

I don't know about you, but I have always assumed that it's illegal to cycle on the sidewalk.  Sure, people do it all the time, but I always looked down upon those who did.  (I apologize for being judgmental.)  That's why I was surprised last week when I saw a bicycle-mounted police officer cruising down the sidewalk.  Being the proud grandson of a police officer myself, I have always looked to our police force to set an example with respect to traffic code compliance.  So naturally I was confused by this officer's presence on the forbidden sidewalk. 

Then I took a look at the Milwaukee bicycle code, where I found this: 

"RIDING ON PUBLIC WAYS.  No bicycle shall be operated upon any public sidewalk, pedestrian paths in the public parks, or upon any public school grounds or public playgrounds.  This subsection shall not apply to . . . bicycles operated by police officers in the discharge of their official duties . . . ."

What this means is that police officers can ride on the sidewalk.  It's one of the perks of the job.  I felt a renewed sense of confidence in the men and women wearing our city's police uniform upon reading this ordinance.  I just wish someone would get those guys some cooler bikes. 

Photo by Thunderchild tm

By the way, if you're worried that your kids shouldn't be riding on the sidewalk, don't be.  Fortunately, they are also exempt from Milwaukee code section 102-8(2)'s ban on sidewalk riding:

"This subsection shall not apply to . . . vehicles propelled by the feet acting on pedals and having 2 or more wheels with an overall diameter of 14 inches or more when operated by children of the age of 10 years or under . . . ."

I know my kids love riding their "vehicles propelled by the feet acting on pedals and having 2 or more wheels with an overall diameter of 14 inches or more."  They call them "bikes" for short because they usually can't remember the full, proper name.  Kids are cute that way.