Category: Advocacy/Awareness

Topics include safe riding tips and techniques, organizations and publications promoting bicycle travel, bicycling infrastructure case studies and opportunities.

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Advocacy/Awareness

St. Francisville Ferry

Since this blog is ostensibly about bike touring news, here is a newsy sort of a post.

May 5, 2011
Due to the rising Mississippi River causing the closure of the New Roads/St. Francisville ferry, the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) has opened the John James Audubon Bridge. This emergency opening will accommodate traffic that has lost river-crossing access when the ferry closed. The ferry, which carried approximately 720 vehicles per day according to 2009-2010 DOTD statistics, is permanently closed with the opening of the Audubon Bridge.

The new bridge at New Roads/St. Francisville, LA

So the ferry from New Roads to St. Francisville is permanently closed. The new bridge has been under construction since 2006 and is still not 100% complete, but the Louisiana D.O.T. has determined it is safe to use…at least for cars, it doesn’t say anything about bike lanes. It used to be that if the ferry was not running, which apparently was not infrequently, it meant a 56 mile detour down to Baton Rouge, across a very dangerous bridge, and back up to New Roads or St. Francisville (depending on the travelers direction). So, in a way, the bridge may be a welcome update to the Southern Tier route, although taking the ferry was sort of funky and the dearth of traffic in St Francisville was pretty nice.

Taking the ferry from New Roads, LA to St. Francisville

The new bridge is south of the ferry crossing location and the bicycle tourist should take SR 10 south instead of north at the junction with SR 420 to the new approach road (eastbound) and they will want to take the Baton Rouge Spur south on US 61 to the new approach road just past the junction of SR 966 (westbound). I don’t know if the Adventure Cycling Association is in the process of revamping these maps, but I’m pretty sure they are on it.

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Advocacy/Awareness Living Vicariously

Small Bike Tour

Chris Johnson already coined the word “micro-tour”.  “Small tour” might describe our Saturday ride. Eleven miles to a little restaurant in a neighboring town, a cup of coffee, some fish tacos and some time to sit in the sun and read. Doesn’t even really qualify as “cycling”. It’s just something we did and we happened to do it with bicycles.

Warm sun, no hurry!

Enjoying the good things about bike touring, like relaxing in a nice spot and not being in a big hurry. And not really having any other urgent commitments at the moment. We took our books and  we took jackets and long pants, because even though the sun felt great the wind had a bite to it. And the Zimbale canvas saddlebags came in handy!

The Not Even A Bike Ride
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Advocacy/Awareness

Bike “Industry”

The bike “industry” has designed mental baggage for us to carry with us on our bike rides. The baggage of  lightweight-extreme-beat-up -your -buddy-ism. The baggage that weighs down that latest, lightest, most expensive gear with the fear that, without said gear, other people might look down on us as if we are beginners.  Can’t really blame the bike industry though, the  big companies need to sell more stuff and tweaking and repackaging last year’s products and giving them rad new names is easier than real innovation, and selling the latest “toys” to the enthusiast is easier than bringing new people into bicycling. Now there is a plethora of smaller companies and frame builders and bloggers focusing more on the practical aspects of cycling and you see the big companies copying them. Which is not necessarily a bad thing except when the copies are cheap imitations that don’t really work that well.

Don't forget to smile!

Their is a tacit, maybe even an unknowing attempt to pigeonhole everybody who is on a bike into some category. There are 4 main ones. Road racer, gnarly mountain biker, fixed gear hipster, and everbody else. The last category includes people going to the bar on cruisers, homeless people on department store bikes, bikes that will live on the rear end of a motor home or in a garage and never be ridden and cyclo tourists.

Ever notice how in every publication or ad for bicycling the road rider is togged out and standing up on the pedals as if sprinting in the Roubaix velodrome and mountain bikers are always out of the saddle on a fast downhill track with the dust flying? In my neck of the woods, everybody seems to have guzzled that Kool-Aid.

Part of the problem (is there a problem, or is it just in my own head?) may be semantics. By calling bicycling a sport and bicycle riders “cyclists” there is some sort of elitism implied. And calling bicycles toys, as many people with very expensive bicycles do, relegates them to  special, occasional uses, at least mentally, and it becomes an event and a production to go on a simple bike ride. I like Ant Bike Mike’s tag line “Not sport…transport.” Sums it up nicely methinks. If we think of bicycles as tools…tools for traveling…tools for running errands and getting to work…and tools for exercising and having fun, maybe we will have a lighter load to carry?

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Advocacy/Awareness

Sky King’s take on Austin

While much of our time in Austin was spent inside at the North American Handmade Bicycle Show, we did get out and about a bit.  Most of these photo’s were taken with my phone but thought it would be fun to give you a little view of some of the things we saw.

I must confess, on day one, we observed a gentleman riding his bicycle wearing nothing but a G-string, way too much information for us.  Needless to say we decided no one else needed to be exposed to that either.

Ironwork Arch in East Austin

As a bit of a history nut, I imagine this Arch as an entrance to East Austin that the community installed to declare a neighborhood existence beyond downtown Austin. Now somewhat drawfed by I35 it still stands with pride.

Also in East Austin was this funky neighbor music venue and some interesting tiled mosaic murals.

Neighborhood music venue
tile mosaic mural

Eating at Scholz Garten, was a treat, Only a few blocks from the stadium where the Texas Longhorns play basketball, the place was packed with people wearing orange t-shirts with longhorns but cleared out quickly once the game commenced. Scholz was established in 1866 and prides itself in serving German Food but they also make a pretty decent pulled pork sandwich!

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The Bar At Scholz Garten, serving beer and German Food since 1866

Our “go to” beer in Austin quickly became the Live Oak Big Bark, interesting taste, not real hoppy and a bit of blend between a black IPA and a Red Ale. Of course Jim could probably go into way more detail, but I just drink them.

The Live Oak Big Bark quickly became our beer of choice (sorry Lone Star)

Mellow Johnny’s was a big supported of the North American Handmade Bicycle show. They hosted a huge party Friday night but didn’t have honky tonk so we cruised the shop and then departed. We are happy to say they are a dealer for Zimbale North America and had the bags displayed beautifully. To bad this photo doesn’t do justice to this bike. Similar to the Surly Big Dummy and Mellow Johnny’s decked it out with propane hot plate and mixing bowls – was pretty entertaining. The panniers are Giant – could probably stuff two kids, all the groceries and the kitchen sink.

Treks extended bicycle

The Bike Hermit has the highest metabolism of anyone I know so finding Whole Foods was on the top of the list. The Austin store is the flag ship and a must visit for anyone who goes to Austin. I thought this “desert” stream in their landscaping was quite pleasant and deserving of a photo.

When at the Austin Whole Foods, be sure to admire the desert stream.

As I failed to do much research prior to our trip regarding bike rental options, I was the queen of walking. BUT just so you know, Austin Bike Tours and Rentals not only rents bikes they deliver and pick them up when you are done – DANG
I walked past this very clever bike rack, if you have any old frames in your garage, just weld them together!

recycled bike frames make a great bike rack!
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Advocacy/Awareness

“Sudden” Insights

I wonder if my experience is that much different from other bicyclers’.  Some of the time, or most of the time, after I have been out on my bicycle for a while, and usually when I am by myself, I will have an insight or a solution to a particular problem or situation which I am not even specifically thinking about at the time, but which I have been working on in everyday life. I recently came across a description of how this “eureka” moment comes about.

The Most Powerful Idea In The World is a book written by William Rosen and ostensibly about the Industrial Revolution, and the steam engine, but it’s just as much about invention and creativity and how insights to a problem can suddenly occur when the creator is not even “working” on the problem.

According to Rosen, people who study this sort of thing sometimes use “chaos theory to describe how neurons fire together. When a single neuron chemically fires it’s electrical charge, and causes it’s neighbors to do the same, the random electrical activity that is always present in the human brain can result in a “neuronal avalanche” within the brain”.

Most of this activity takes place in a part of the brain to which the blood flow is inhibited by most “normal” brain activity, i.e. the type of activity associated with everyday tasks such as (at least in modern day life) paying the power bill, going to the grocery store, and holding down a job. In short, survival. Likewise, early Homo Sapiens would not have had the luxury of being able to spend a lot of time daydreaming about new ways to start a fire.

Therefore, the human brain still does it’s best creative thinking when there is a sense of security or safety and relaxation. That might be why the  Greek dude who ran down the street naked shouting “eureka” was relaxing in the bathtub when he had his insight.

I thought this was an interesting description of a phenomenon I have always noticed to some degree when I’m riding my bike. And now, if you’ll excuse me, I think I will go do just that! (ride my bike that is..not run down the street naked)