Has anyone here attended or witnessed a Cleveland Critical Mass ride? I am not really interested in the politics of the ride but riding that freely through downtown does sound like a pretty unique experience to me.

 

Is the ride mostly light hearted? Is it well received by authorities and traffic? I am very curious as right now I feel 50/50 about attending.

 

mkeller, did you ride with Critical Mass last Friday?

 

Unfortunately no.  Work moved me to the afternoon shift to cover for someone during that week.  I am planning on riding this month and hoping the weather stays ok.

AS OF TONIGHT MY BICYLCE DUI IS OFF MY RECORD.  MY CAR INSURANCE JUST DROPPED FROM $112 TO $57/mo.  THIS IS A BIG F-U TO THE OHIO STATE HIGHWAY PATROL FOR PULLING ME OVER IN 2005 AND INTRODUCING SO MUCH HAVOC TO MY LIFE.  SCREW M.A.D.D. AND YOUR SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS:

 

Drinking and Driving - The Pietasters

 

 

THAT INCIDENT COST ME ABOUT $7,000 DIRECTLY AND SEVERAL JOB OPPORTUNITIES.  SO ANOTHER BIG F-U TO M.A.D.D. YOU LADIES COMPLETELY SUCK. 

WAIT?!  You got a Bike DUI??!!  ROFLMAO  Are you efin' serious?  LOL  If this is a joke, this is the funniest post (right after GREECE) in urbanohio history!

AS OF TONIGHT MY BICYLCE DUI IS OFF MY RECORD. MY CAR INSURANCE JUST DROPPED FROM $112 TO $57/mo. THIS IS A BIG F-U TO THE OHIO STATE HIGHWAY PATROL FOR PULLING ME OVER IN 2005 AND INTRODUCING SO MUCH HAVOC TO MY LIFE. SCREW M.A.D.D. AND YOUR SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS:

 

Drinking and Driving - The Pietasters

 

 

THAT INCIDENT COST ME ABOUT $7,000 DIRECTLY AND SEVERAL JOB OPPORTUNITIES. SO ANOTHER BIG F-U TO M.A.D.D. YOU LADIES COMPLETELY SUCK.

 

It all depends on whether the particular state you are in considers 'vehicle' (in the DUI laws) to include those powered by humans, in addition to motorized vehicles.  Ohio is one of those states.  In Cali, for instance, you can be as drunk as you want on a bike and you won't get a DUI..... although they might write you up for public drunkenness.  It does seem weird, but I don't find it that troubling of a law.  I certainly don't want to share the road with someone who can tip over right in front of my car at any given time, either causing me to run him/her over or to swerve and create a hazard for myself and other motorists.

^ You act like there's no middle ground. The offense need not carry the same weight as a DUI.

Okay, in response to popular demand, here are screen shots of the Athens County court docket website describing the incident:

 

 

 

 

Notice the lack of vehicle information, since obviously no vehicle was involved.  Problem is, this has shown up on background checks and I'm convinced has kept me from several good jobs where I had very good phone interviews or real interviews. 

 

The incident went a little something like this:

 

Me: at Tony's Bar in Athens on the night of Labor Day (Monday night). 

 

Me: about to leave after two Miller High Life's

 

Me: Friend Elliot shows up as I turn for the door

 

Me: Have one more beer and shot of Jameson Irish Whisky with said Elliot

 

Me: leave on bicycle one mile back to apartment

 

Me: glide past state highway patrol officer in cruiser waiting for drunks to roll off US 33 at Stimson Avenue.

 

Officer: puts on lights, pulls me over quarter mile down the road

 

Officer: don't you know you need a light?

 

Me: no.

 

Officer: have you been drinking?

 

Me: yes.  But I'm barely even buzzed, so I cooperate fully, thinking there's no way I'm going to be charged with a DUI. 

 

Officer: goes back to cruiser with my license

 

Officer: makes me do field sobriety test, but before doing so takes me off camera so none of it is properly recorded

 

Officer: tells me I'm "not going to jail tonight"...at this point I'm thinking I'm off the hook.

 

Officer: handcuffs me and makes me ride back to the state highway patrol office.  Engages in lively banter with other patrol officers on CB, making fun of "guy on tricycle".  Once back at station, handcuffs me to chair and flirts with receptionist for awhile before making me sign a bunch of papers and do the breathalyzer test.  At this point I'm still thinking there's no way I'm over the legal limit or that I'm actually going to get charged with a DUI.

 

Officer: since it's now 45 minutes after I left the bar, the last two drinks are actually in my bloodstream, unlike at the time of the bicycling.  I blow a .11. So I was probably at a .08 or .09 when I was pulled over. 

 

In Court: the next morning in court, coutroom erupts in laughter at charges

 

Lawyer: is pissed about my situation, mad that the officer marked down that I resisted arrest with the tape clearly indicated that I was fully cooperative.  But because I didn't have the light, that was probable cause for me to be pulled over.  There's no way out unless...

 

In Court two months later: State Highway officer ACTUALLY SHOWS UP TO COURT.  He stayed up all night to show up for court since he was nodding off.  So this proved that these guys are actually paid a commission for bringing people in on DUI charges. 

 

In Court: Courtroom erupts in laughter again when facts of case are read.  Judge has to go back to his office to look up the law. Prosecutor agrees to reduce charges from OVI to reckless operation and community service from 40 hours to 12, but still throws the book at me otherwise.  Keep in mind I had no points on my license, had never been in a wreck, or had been in any legal trouble ever before. 

 

Me: lose license for six months (I didn't own a car at the time so it didn't really matter), am fined about $300, have to go to a 3-day alcohol program which cost about $300, pay lawyer $1,500, pay $800 just to have my car insurance reinstated the next year (that cost on top of very high monthly payments), pay to retake the driving test and all that, then pay extraordinarily high car insurance when I bought a car the next year.  Just this month, five years later, has my car insurance returned to "good driver" status.

 

So anyone looking for some juicy story of me running over an old lady on the bike, look elsewhere.  I didn't injure myself or anyone else.  Nobody was even on the road except me and the officer.  This all happened because of the quota and commission system that officers are paid to bring in DUI's, and we have MADD to thank for all that.  Also, this particular officer was nuts.  He pulled over my friend's girflriend and had her sit in his cruiser for an hour and told her his life story.  Yeah, crap like that actually happens. 

 

In other DUI stories, I had a friend who was convicted of a DUI in Athens after having just one beer because the breathalyzer machine wasn't working and the court accepted the fabricated testimony of the state highway patrol. 

 

What I don't understand is how they could suspend your license and assess points when you don't even need a license to ride a bicycle. The offense, guilty or not, had nothing to do with a driver's license.

DUI law in this country is extremely ridiculous on almost all accounts.  There's no better example of the state exploiting a real issue (drunk driving can kill) to just make money.

What I don't understand is how they could suspend your license and assess points when you don't even need a license to ride a bicycle. The offense, guilty or not, had nothing to do with a driver's license.

 

Exactly.  You needed an ambulance chaser lawyer.

Bicycle sharrows added in Cleveland Heights

 

http://bikesintheheights.org/announcements/bicycle-sharrows-in-cleveland-heights/

 

THAT INCIDENT COST ME ABOUT $7,000 DIRECTLY AND SEVERAL JOB OPPORTUNITIES. SO ANOTHER BIG F-U TO M.A.D.D. YOU LADIES COMPLETELY SUCK.

I got a speeding ticket once. The fact that the insurance company got more out of me than the government is BS

MADD at one time stated that 50-60% of the people on the road at any given time were drunk.

Considering 50-60% of the population doesn't drink, that's quite a trick.

>Exactly.  You needed an ambulance chaser lawyer.

 

This was part of the problem.  Even the lawyer I hired had no experience with a bicycle case and had to look everything up, as thre had only been one other case in the county since the DUI laws got tough around 1990.  My dad is a lawyer but lives out of state.  The lawyer I hired was recommended to him by someone else.  Maybe there would have been a better choice in the county.  But I didn't have any money and had to go with him, and his flat fee was $1500.  To take it to trial cost another $2,500.  I didn't have that kind of money to risk, since the lawyer thought at best I had a 50% chance of getting out of it since according to the letter of the law I had committed an OVI violation.  Winning the case was dependent on the jury being sympathetic to my plight and basically not following the law themselves.     

 

Also, I had an unrelated situation going on at that time which I was already dealing with, and this happened on top of it.  So I wasn't able to fight it as strongly as I could have otherwise. 

 

 

>MADD at one time stated that 50-60%

 

Oh believe me, they hit you with that propaganda when you're in the 3-day rehab program.  If you challenge any of it, they can say you're violating your probation and can be sent to jail. 

 

I've run through the events in my mind many times and know exactly how I could have biked away.  This happened on the road right below the famous Bong Hill, so I was hemmed in by the hill, which is too steep to climb, and the Hocking River.  I could have just bolted back to the Stimson Avenue Bridge and slipped through that little apartment complex onto Mill Street, where the cruiser could not have followed, then simply hung out in a freind's apartment for the night on Mill Street.  But again, I simply did not think I was over the legal limit or that it all would have come to this. 

 

 

 

I'm 99.999% sure that I will be at the Cleveland Critical Mass ride this Friday.  Anyone else plan on attending?

>Exactly. You needed an ambulance chaser lawyer.

 

This was part of the problem. Even the lawyer I hired had no experience with a bicycle case and had to look everything up, as thre had only been one other case in the county since the DUI laws got tough around 1990. My dad is a lawyer but lives out of state. The lawyer I hired was recommended to him by someone else. Maybe there would have been a better choice in the county. But I didn't have any money and had to go with him, and his flat fee was $1500. To take it to trial cost another $2,500. I didn't have that kind of money to risk, since the lawyer thought at best I had a 50% chance of getting out of it since according to the letter of the law I had committed an OVI violation. Winning the case was dependent on the jury being sympathetic to my plight and basically not following the law themselves.

 

For future reference (for all of us), there is an attorney in Ohio who has decided to make himself the bike law expert:  Steve Magas.

http://ohiobikelawyer.com/

 

I have no experience with him, I've just seen a few newspaper articles.

Although not in Ohio, in light of what jmecklenborg wrote about his recent ticket, I thought this was relevant.

 

Cop Blocks Bike Lane To Ticket Cyclists For Not Using Lane

http://gothamist.com/2010/10/27/cop_blocks_bike_lane_to_ticket_cycl.php

 

I wish I had known about that bike lawyer then.  It might have helped.  The real problem is that if I were to go on talk radio with the story nobody would believe I was telling the truth.  Even if people believed me, nothing would happen, since it would require a change in state law. 

 

Meanwhile, there is the quite serious issue of drunk people on Segway's, which unlike bicycles are not considered motor vehicles under Ohio law, despite actually having motors.  They had an issue in Columbus a few years ago with a Segway bar hop. 

 

 

 

 

 

MY CAR INSURANCE JUST DROPPED FROM $112 TO $57/mo. 

My best advice is to not carry collision insurance if you don't have to.  If you have a car loan, you have to buy collision insurance, though.  Get a larger deductible.

 

You need enough insurance to cover any risk that you could not manage with resources that you have.  For example, if I wrecked my $10,000 car, I do have $10,000 in the bank to replace it.  Perhaps your threshold is $1000.

 

I bought a new car last year.  I have a $500,000 liability policy and pay $210 per year.

 

I am real sorry about your Athens story.  Many cops are just creeps.

I'm 99.999% sure that I will be at the Cleveland Critical Mass ride this Friday. Anyone else plan on attending?

 

I am!  I will be in costume.  I've seen a few other UO guys on FB as confirming their attendance.

 

If you want to park in Tremont so that you don't have a far way back to your car, we have a mini mass that rides downtown that swings by Lincoln Park at ~5:50pm to pick people up.  Feel free to join us.

From an email I just received:

 

On October 16, Alison Delgado was critically injured by a car while riding her bike in Cincinnati.  Since then, she has been in intensive care at University Hospital (Cincinnati) recovering from neurologic, vascular, and orthopaedic injuries. 

 

Alison is a wonderful individual, physician, wife, and world class athlete.  She is the winner of the 2005 Flying Pig Marathon in Cincinnati, a state champion runner, and competitive cyclist.  Her 2005 marathon time would have placed her in the top 80 runners (out of 28,000) that year at the Boston Marathon.  A second year pediatrics resident physician at Cincinnati Childrens, she has a passion for primary care and underserved populations.

 

Alison, her husband, and family face a long recovery.  Her medical training will be significantly delayed, causing financial uncertainty for the immediate future.  We are asking you to please help off-set the many expenses she will face in the future by contributing either online, via mail, or in person...

 

... donations can be made at: http://www.razoo.com/story/Alison-Delgado-Fund

I'm 99.999% sure that I will be at the Cleveland Critical Mass ride this Friday. Anyone else plan on attending?

 

I am! I will be in costume. I've seen a few other UO guys on FB as confirming their attendance.

 

If you want to park in Tremont so that you don't have a far way back to your car, we have a mini mass that rides downtown that swings by Lincoln Park at ~5:50pm to pick people up. Feel free to join us.

 

I was planning on parking in Tremont, then I was going to ride Scranton and Carter rd into downtown.  Meeting at Lincoln Park sounds like a better plan, maybe I will see you there.

>My best advice is to not carry collision insurance if you don't have to

 

 

Well as an aside I've never wrecked a car or hit anything.  Similarly I've never fallen off a bike or hit a car, aside from a water bottle-related incident when I was going 1mph (actually I did flip over the handlebars when I was in 5th grade trying to impress some girls, but that doesn't count).

 

I think the two are related and I would like to see a study of bicyclists that compares their bike accidents with their car accident history.  The tendency of online bike discussions is to always blame the car, but I think at least 50% of bike accidents are caused by the person on the bike assuming people see them or doing something stupid. 

 

 

 

Regarding Alison Delgado, I'm really close friend with her brother and they are going through a very difficult time. I recently saw on FB that Park+Vine posted a t-shirt for sale, proceeds of which will benefit Alison's recovery. It's on my facebook profile (www.facebook.com/rob.jaques)

Speaking of drunk bicycling, I love how with dozens of police around for Monday night football, nobody hit up this guy, who can be seen committing upwards of a dozen moving violations in 30 seconds on this video:

 

 

 

Funny thing is, at this exact same spot I was almost ticketed two weeks ago merely for turning onto 5th St. for the twenty feet to the bike rack. 

 

 

Segment of statewide bike trail shutting down after local levy defeat

 

Tuesday, November 16, 2010  02:53 AM

By Holly Zachariah

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

The rejection of a property-tax issue in one western Ohio county has upset outdoor enthusiasts far and wide because the levy's loss on Nov. 2 means about 10 miles of the Ohio to Erie Trail will close in Clark County this week.

 

The 92-mile, southern Ohio leg of the Ohio to Erie Trail connects Cincinnati to Madison County, and Metro Parks is extending it into Franklin County.

 

The trail is responsible for a great deal of Ohio tourism and is far more than a place just for recreational bicyclists, said Jerry Rampelt, the trail's executive director.

 

Full story at: http://www.dispatchpolitics.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2010/11/16/copy/clark-county-segment-of-states-premier-trail-shutting-down-after-levy-defeat.html?adsec=politics&sid=101

Nationally Bike Commuting Grows

from National Public Radio

 

http://www.npr.org/2010/11/23/131539669/switching-gears-more-commuters-bike-to-work#

Here's a great piece with a mention of a fantastic idea that was proposed to an ODOT official.

 

Mainstreaming Bicycles

January 3, 2011

by William Lind

The American Conservative Center for Public Transportation

 

Contrary to what most people think, the revolution in personal mobility did not begin with the automobile.  It started about two decades before Henry Ford’s first Model T, and it was based on a combination of the electric railway and the safety bicycle.

 

Electric streetcars and interurbans brought affordable, fast and frequent rail service to and between cities  -  -  every American city or town with more than 5000 people had at least one streetcar line.  The interurbans also tied towns and the countryside to the cities.  The safety bicycle  -  -  a bicycle with equal-sized wheels that was easy to mount  -  -  was the first bicycle women and less athletic men could ride.  It provided greatly enhanced local mobility compared to walking.  Together, electric railways and safety bicycles offered the middle and working classes the level of mobility previously reserved to those wealthy enough to afford a carriage.

 

more: http://www.amconmag.com/cpt/2011/01/03/mainstreaming-bicycles/

Newark council committee looks to encourage noncar transportation

 

Written by

AMY HOLLON

Newark Advocate

 

NEWARK -- Newark City Council Economic Development Committee approved legislation Monday that will encourage city leaders to consider modes of transportation other than cars when developing future city streets.

 

The resolution is part of a "complete streets" grant the city plans to apply for but could also be a first step in making the city friendlier to pedestrians and cyclists.

 

Planner Aaron Schill said 40 percent of Newark's population already doesn't drive because they are younger than 16, elderly, low-income or have a disability.

 

Read more at: http://www.newarkadvocate.com/article/20110111/NEWS01/101110308/-1/

New York Eyes Bike Registrations

Pol pushing ID tags

By SALLY GOLDENBERG and TOM NAMAKO

 

You may soon need a sticker to ride.

 

In a bid to rein in rogue cyclists, all adult pedal pushers in the city will be required to get an ID tag affixed to their bikes if a city councilman has his way, The Post has learned.

 

Eric Ulrich (R-Queens) says he is floating the proposal -- which would require a small fee -- because "there seems to be a double standard when it comes to enforcing the traffic laws. Bicycles are involved in accidents, unfortunately, across this city."

 

...

 

One biker saw an upside, saying lost or stolen bikes could be identified. "Right now, [recovered] bicycles just get auctioned" by police, said audio engineer Chvad Bernhard, 37.

 

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/queens/sticking_it_to_bikers_QkNdSzrRAbj6rrmCtW4zoM#ixzz1BRPqaxkz

 

A couple interesting links I came across on Cleveland and biking:

 

http://www.gcbl.org/blog/marc-lefkowitz/complete-streets-gets-sidelined-again-cleveland

 

http://sustainablecitiescollective.com/joepeach/19855/designing-and-funding-bicycle-revolution-our-cities?utm_source=scc_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter

 

Out-of-the-box and unconventional are words used in these websites...and I couldn't agree more.

Cleveland, like Columbus, should have plenty of cycling infrastructure. What Cleveland should do are some road diets in healthy or up-and-coming main streets. What those sites don't mention (or I skimmed over it) is the fact that those wide roads were built to accommodate what was thought to be an ever-increasing number of cars on city roads back in the 60s, much like other cities. Except in  Cleveland's case this is more extreme, so if the city were to reduce the number of lanes of traffic and therefore cut down the cost of maintenance of their roads significantly, they could easily talk the talk and maybe even walk some of the walk.

 

Why the city would just plain shoot this down when they could have adopted a complete streets policy and done little in reality like Columbus did, I can't imagine. They ruined some decent PR for Cleveland seeking to be bike-friendly.

Rail trail work progresses with help from volunteers

 

JESSICA CUFFMAN • The Marion Star • February

13, 2011

 

MARION - Volunteers worked to clear another 1,000

feet of the future 12-mile rail trail during a warmer

winter day this weekend.

 

One volunteer led the way east down the trail from

Hoch Road with a chain saw, and five others

followed, pulling the brush to the side of the

corridor.

 

Still others, including Marion County Park District

Board member Dan Sheridan, followed with pruning

shears to tackle the briars that have grown over the

path in the years it was an abandoned railroad

corridor.

 

Full story at: http://www.marionstar.com/article/20110213/NEWS01/102130306/-1/

Three Sixty Bike Shop recycling old bikes for good cause

Written by

LEEANN MOORE

5:55 AM, Feb. 16, 2011|

 

ZANESVILLE -- The leftover bicycle parts lying around the Three Sixty Bike Shop are

perfect.

 

They're perfect because in some way or another, owner Mike Brooks will use them.

 

The parts are mixed and matched to make the old new again, or at least working.

 

Then, he gives them away to people who don't have transportation.

 

Full story at: http://www.zanesvilletimesrecorder.com/article/20110216/NEWS01/102160308/-1/

Rerouting of bike trail is on track

Contract for bridge over I-271 is awarded in project coordinated by county, U.S. parks

 

By Bob Downing

Beacon Journal staff writer

 

Rerouting a section of the Bike & Hike Trail in northern Summit County will get under way this spring.

 

The $3.3 million project includes constructing a new bridge over Interstate 271 in Northfield Center and Sagamore Hills townships, building one mile of rerouted trail and expanding the parking lot at Brandywine Falls.

 

The Ohio Department of Transportation has awarded a nearly $1.1 million contract to Shelly & Sands Inc. of Zanesville to build the bridge over the highway. The company was the lowest of eight bidders.

 

Read more at: http://www.ohio.com/news/116639623.html

Advocates of trail to Fryeburg say rail project throws plans off-track

By Beth Quimby [email protected]

Staff Writer

 

Advocates of a walking and biking trail that could someday link Fryeburg to Portland are trying to delay the reconstruction of the Mountain Division Rail Line, which is due to start this month.

 

Although the contract for the $4 million job has been signed and rails have been delivered, trail committees and snowmobilers are asking state transportation officials to put the project on hold.

 

The issue pits rail proponents against the trail's advocates and threatens to fracture a long-term effort by both groups to create alternatives to highway transportation between the coast and western Maine.

 

Trail supporters have dubbed the project the "railroad to nowhere," while rail proponents say the controversy threatens a major economic spur for the region.

 

Full story at: http://www.pressherald.com/news/advocates-of-trail-to-fryeburg-say-rail-project-throws-plans-off-track_2011-03-04.html

Honestly, as nice as it is to put old rail beds to good use as a walk/bike trail, that's nowhere near as valuable as the railroad itself.  If liability issues weren't such a big factor for the railroads, we could usually do both in the same corridor. 

^ Agreed. I'm a big advocate of cycling, but railway conversions should be a truly last-resort use. Rails are more valuable, and when we're talking bike paths that are exclusively or almost exclusively for recreation (typical of rails-to-trails projects), this is even more the case.

Sinkhole claims part of Middletown bike path

 

http://www.local12.com/news/local/story/Sinkhole-claims-part-of-Middletown-bike-path/zUzE_6HY6UeCRWm1asQrVg.cspx

That's the smallest 30ft wide hole I've ever seen.

A very good "primer" on the rules of the road for drivers and bicyclists...

 

Biking boom

Motorists, cyclists need to learn how to share pavement

Monday, March 21, 2011  03:05 AM

By Robert Vitale

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

Tim Cristy, one of a growing number of cycling commuters in central Ohio, was bruised in a collision with a car last week.

More information

For bike maps, a rundown of local laws and other cycling information, go to publicservice.columbus.gov/bike.

Jim Cristy's string of close calls came to a crashing, bruising halt a week ago on Cannon Drive south of Ohio State University.

 

The North Side resident was riding his bike in the right lane when a car passed on his left and then made a right turn into a parking lot. Christy hit the car's rear passenger side and was thrown to the street. He bruised his hip and shoulder.

 

The car never stopped

Full story at: http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2011/03/21/carsvs-bikes.html?sid=101

There is a push to encourage biking in Dayton and Montgomery County.  The Dayton paper ran a big article on this, with some good graphics on types of bikes (I think I need a "City bike").

 

Get on Your Bike and Ride!

 

Dayton’s formidable biking system earned it a bronze award last year from the League of American Bicyclists, making it the second city in Ohio to receive such a designation. Columbus is the other city to be named “bike friendly” by the 130-year-old league, the nation’s largest bike advocacy organization.

 

Beverly Owens, 68, of Englewood is a MetroParks Volunteer Patrol rider who helps people master their cycling skills during the Bike for the Health of It event that meets for a group ride every Saturday from April through October. (Visit metroparks.org/ BikeHealth for a complete schedule.)

 

Metroparks is going beyond this and is hosting a series of classes/workshops for beginning commuter riders.

 

Intro to Smart Cycling

 

Smart Cycling Basics

 

...and so forth.

 

 

New website for the City of Columbus Bike Plan:

 

http://publicservice.columbus.gov/bike/

Rec trail plan would link Springfield to neighbors

A comprehensive web of bike trails looping through Springfield and connecting Dayton, Columbus and Urbana to Clark County was presented recently to the Springfield-Clark County Transportation Coordinating Committee.

TCC officials stress it’s a “pie in the sky” dream at this point. But that’s the goal.

 

http://www.springfieldnewssun.com/news/springfield-news/rec-trail-plan-would-link-springfield-to-neighbors-1137543.html

Funniest thing happened the other night. While leaving the GE parking lot, a car behind me actually honked at me. Really now? I just chalked it up to Clintonville's ongoing exodus of greens/hippies and influx of dull conservative suburbanites.

Had my first confrontation of the year with a mad dog tonight.  He got out of the way at first, but I knew he was nuts and right as I passed him he came after me and chased me at full speed for at least 300 feet.  He came awfully close but never got ahold of my ankle, then ran parallel to me on the opposite side of the street while looking away, but there was nothing to look at over there.  Like I said, he was nuts.  I've still never been bitten by a dog while riding, but have had to turn around on country roads when it was clear I wasn't going to get past a pack of them.

Dayton's Yellow Bike Program:

 

Yellow Bikes Coming to downtown Dayton

 

Modelled after programs in Austin & Seattle,apparntley.    I made use of them on Urban Nights.  First time riding on streets for me since the early 1980s.  Got a lot to learn!

 

 

Local blogger opines on Dayton's "Yellow Bike" scheme:

 

The Yellow Bike test balloon

 

...saying this is a halfhearted attempt vs the B-Cycle bikeshare system he had been advocating (and I agree, just that no one was willing to provide the financial support for B-Cycle.

 

 

 

 

Perhaps Dayton could captilize more on its bicycle-related history. The Wright Brothers were bicycle mechanics by profession, and did the development and design work on their aircraft in the bike shop.

 

Dayton used to have a very good serious bike shop, Steve's, on Salem Avenue. The neighborhood suddenly got much rougher, and by the late seventies he had the windows mostly boarded up although the business still went on. By then he had mostly switched to silk-screened sports apparel. I doubt if the store is still there. For a long time his store was one of the few in the area that carried quality frames and components, and some of us from Fort Wayne used to make the long drive there to buy good gear from someone who knew his stuff and wasn't a snob-jock. In 1977 I bought an Eisentraut frame from Steve's and built a bike using most of the salvageable components from my wrecked Peugeot PX-10. That's the black road bike I still have.

Rob, this is the better local bike shop today for Dayton:

 

K&G Bikes.  Their Centerville location is literally just down the road from me.  I could buy a bike there and ride it home.

 

Also,,,heres more about the Bike Shoppe behind the Yellow Bike program...its part of a faith-based nonprofit called the Life Enrichment Center:

 

Bike Shoppe & Safety Vaillage

 

@@@

 

There is some tie-in btw the Wright Brothers and modern biking, locally, but maybe not that well-formed.  This area realy does have a good recreational trail system, but it pales compared to a place like Davis, CA, which is the bike town par excellance for the US.

 

 

The last two comments interest me. I used both shops when I was a student in Dayton in the 1970s.

 

K&G (their original location on Marshall Road) had always been my go-to place for bikes and repairs.

 

I had just one experience with Steve's, in the late 1970s - a really bad experience with repair. My brother and I were planning a 1 week bike trip. We dropped our bikes off and Steve himself proudly declared that he would have our bikes overhauled and ready to pick up on a certain date. We went there that morning and they hadn't even touched them. So we had to take our bikes back and ride them as-is.

 

Now I live closer to Cincinnati and I suppose I should patronize local bike shops more. I went to Montgomery Cyclery a few years ago to buy cold weather clothes. The salesman said that an outfit like I wanted would be at least $700 "and we have financing". So I bought my stuff at the Wal-Mart of bicycling, Performance, and paid less than $250 for comparable stuff.

 

I would gladly use K&G for repair or gear again, though.

I had an indifferent experience with K&G.  So far there is a place in Kettering called 'Performance Bikes" that actually seemed to have helpful help.

 

The place in Englewood is still there, but its a real small shop that seems to specialize in repairs vs new bikes.

 

I had a funny experience in yet another shop in Kettering, Kettering Bike Shop, on Wilmington just south of Dorothy Lane.  Turns out both I and these two Dutch ladies all gravitated to the very same bike, which appeared to be the only utility bike in stock!  Theye were commenting on how they used to use bikes for everything over in the Netherlands, and I said "yeah, in Germany my aunt had a bike a lot like this to get around on'....

 

...so you'd expect a bidding war for this bike, huh?  I figured Id just look around more and the Dutch ladies where balking at the price (and not happy about the extremely limited selection of utility bikes).

 

I think the shops here in Dayton are not really ready for a demand for the kind of errand/utiity/commuter biking that some of us are interested in.  They have excellent selections for recreational bikes, not so much for practicle utility bikes.